Crossroads
by markaleen
Summary: Arnie Ross and Elaine Nardo have been dating for almost a year and all signs are pointing to marriage. Arnie receives a job offer in Chicago and asks Elaine to move with him which leaves a big, life changing decision up to Elaine. NaNoWriMo 2012
1. Arnie and Elaine

**NOTE- I do NOT own any of the character, media, or rights to Taxi.**

**This story is my NaNoWriMo novel for 2012. It's the first time I have ever won so I hope it's not too bad! As I edit the chapters I will be uploading them here. I hope you all enjoy! Feed back always appreciated. ~markaleen**

**I'd also like to say this this story is 100% dedicated to my friend Rachel (Chagrins). Thank you so much Rachel for supporting me through NaNoWriMo and for reading my work as I wrote it. I had so much fun and enjoyed reading your work. Even though NaNo is over for the both of us, I hope we can both continue to write! Even if it's just about Mary Poppins ;) Love you!**

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**Chapter 1**

Arnie Ross and Elaine Nardo had been going out for nearly a year. Their relationship had certainly been very interesting so far. Let's start with how they met: Simka Gravas, the wife of Latka Gravas who is a mechanic at the garage where Elaine works (as well as a friend of Elaine's), threw what they call in their native country a Shloogal. A Shloogal is a party at which a newly married couple (who were Latka and Simka) sets all of their friends up with 'their perfect match'. Simka claims to have a special gift of finding a person's perfect partner. She had set Arnie up with Elaine. Arnie knew instantly that he liked Elaine. What's not to like? She's smart, kind hearted, and not to mention gorgeous. Elaine knew that she liked Arnie, but in a different way. It wasn't one of those instant things like, "I love this man. I love this man." It was more like, "Now here's someone worth getting to know." She found Arnie's shyness and nervousness very endearing. Also the way he expressed it. One of the first things he has said to her was, "I'm just sitting here… picturing you… uh naked." At first she was shocked but once he explained himself she laughed. He had said that because his history with women wasn't great. Let's face it, he isn't such a looker, he's not the smartest, and according to him it mattered that he wasn't rich.

After the Shloogal, Arnie and Elaine continued to see each other on and off. It wasn't too serious. Elaine was very unsure of where she saw the relationship going. One day after they had spent the day at a gallery opening they attended, Arnie dropped Elaine off at the garage. He said hello to everyone, made some jokes (though, the content of the jokes embarrassed Elaine), and then he went on his way. After he had gone, Elaine asked Alex if he could watch her kids, Jennifer and Jason, while she and Arnie had dinner at her place. Alex asked why the kids couldn't be there and Elaine confessed that she had been avoiding introducing them. Alex was shocked, in a way. This led him to asking questions about her and Arnie's relationship. Elaine admitted that she wasn't sure, and that she didn't want the kids to get attached in case she wanted to break up with Arnie or vice versa. Alex said she was just being silly and paranoid. So he convinced Elaine to introduce her kids and Arnie. Jennifer and Jason instantly loved Arnie. But the reason was because he came with gifts and was pretty much putting on a show. What really got Elaine mad was when Arnie gave the kids twenty dollars each- and against her objections. Elaine made the kids give the money back which caused a scene of course. Despite the scenes and the acts, the night ended wonderfully. Jennifer and Jason both loved Arnie even though he said he wouldn't be bringing any more gifts, and Elaine learned how much she liked Arnie… How much she loved Arnie.

"Well, it looks like you may be stuck with me." Arnie said.

"Yeah, I guess I am… and you know what? I love it." Elaine replied.

Since that night, both Arnie and Elaine were as happy as could be.


	2. Wedding Bells?

**Chapter 2**

Elaine walked into the garage and was greeted by the gang.

She said hello back then hastily walked over to Alex, "Hey Alex, could I talk to you alone for a minute?" she asked quietly.

Alex agreed and stood up and walked over to where the phone was with Elaine. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

She shrugged, "I wouldn't say wrong… it's just that, well you know that Arnie and I have been getting **very**serious, right?" Alex nodded as she continued. "Well… tonight we have plans to have dinner at this very elegant Italian restaurant."

Alex waited a moment for her to continue and then said, "And… this is a problem?"

"Not a problem exactly… but he also said that we wanted to talk to me about something big."

"Oh, I see were you're headed with this. Do you think that he's going to propose?" he smiled.

She replied with a half-smile, "The thought had crossed my mind."

"How do you feel?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." She sighed, "I really love him, I think he's so wonderful and I'm very happy with him…"

"But?" he persisted.

"But… I just don't know if we're ready. What do you think?"

"What do you mean 'what do I think'?" he asked with a confused tone.

"I mean just what I'm saying. **What do you think**? I want to hear your opinion."

Alex sighed, "Elaine, I really don't think it's my place to say anything."

Elaine rolled her eyes, "Come on Alex, I'm asking you. When someone asks your opinion on something it becomes your place. I really want to know; even if it's bad."

"Fine, fine… well from what I see, you two seem really happy together."

She smiled, "Really?"

"Really." He smiled back.

"You're not just saying that right?" she questioned.

Alex laughed, "No, I'm not just saying that. Do you remember that time Arnie came to breakfast with all of us at Mario's?" Elaine nodded, "Yes, why?" Alex continued, "He was telling us a story and I remember looking at you. You looked sincerely happy. I could tell by the look in your eyes that the rest of the world was blocked out, that all you could and wanted to be focused on was Arnie. When you laughed at his jokes you laughed a laugh I had never before heard. You're face lights up when he comes here and surprises you. I truly think that if Arnie Ross asks you to marry him that you should say yes with all your heart."

Elaine smiled, "Oh Alex… that is so sweet." She had to stop herself from tearing up. "You really think that don't you?"

"I really do."

She hugged him, "Thank you so much, Alex. I don't know what I'd ever do without you." She pulled away, "I'm going to go get ready."

Alex smiled and waved goodbye as she left. Once she was out of sight his smile faded. _Well, that's that I suppose… _he thought. The truth of the matter was that though he'd never admit it, Alex had had feelings for Elaine for quite some time. He never had the courage to tell her because they had such a great friendship and he didn't want to risk spoiling it. Sometimes he wondered if he had missed his opportunity to tell Elaine how he felt. There had been a couple occasions where the timing for everything was perfect. Especially their 'one night of love' they spent together in Europe. But the fear of losing what they had was always nagging at him. Her marrying Arnie was probably for the better. This way he and Elaine could keep their friendship and be happy. He would just have to get over her. Besides, Elaine really did seem happy with Arnie. Happier than he had ever seen her or anyone for that matter. And seeing Elaine happy made Alex happy; even if he wasn't the one she was happy with.


	3. Lovely Flowers For A Lovely Girl

**Chapter 3**

"Coming!" Elaine shouted as she rushed to answer the door. She was greeted by Arnie who was holding a bouquet of flowers. "Hiya, sweetheart! These are for you." He handed Elaine the flowers and gave her a kiss. "My, don't you look like a million bucks."

Elaine giggled, "Aw, thank you! These flowers are lovely. Let me go put them in water, and then we can go to dinner."

"Sounds good." He replied. Elaine went into the kitchen while Arnie paced the living room. "So… are Jason and Jennifer home?" he asked.

She replied, "No, they're with their father this weekend."

"Oh, so does this mean that you and I get the place to ourselves?" he smirked.

Elaine laughed and spoke over the water she had begun to run, "Yeah, I guess it does." She said coyly. She set the vase of flowers on the counter and joined Arnie in the living room. "Thank you again, they are really lovely."

"Lovely flowers for a lovely girl."

She smiled, "You are definitely the sweetest man I've ever met. How did I get so lucky?"

"That's funny," he continued, "I was just wondering the same thing."

Without another word they went on their way to dinner. All Elaine could think about was Arnie proposing; forgetting the fact that Arnie proposing was only a hunch, not definite.


	4. A Proposal?

**Chapter 4**

Halfway through dinner Elaine was starting to wonder if he was ever going to propose. Finally she couldn't take it anymore, "So Arnie, what was that big thing that you wanted me to talk about? To be honest, I've been dying to know ever since you mentioned it."

"Oh that, well I guess now is as good a time as any." He took a deep breath, "Elaine…"

"Yes?" it was taking her all not so seem so egger but it wasn't working very well.

Arnie continued, "Elaine, I have received a wonderful job offer."

Her smiled started to fade, "What?" she reacted.

"I've received a job offer."

Now it was taking her all to not be disappointed that he wasn't proposing. "Oh? Well that's… great! I'm so happy for you. What is it?"

"My boss wants to make me the Vice President for the Chicago branch! Isn't that great?"

Arnie currently worked in a bank as a manager. The bank he worked for was branching out to Florida, Boston, and Chicago. Even though working in a bank isn't the most thrilling job, Arnie liked it. He took a lot of pride in his work. When he was offered the Vice President position he was ecstatic and excepted immediately.

"Yes, that's really… really wonderful." She forced a smile.

"Elaine?" he frowned, "Is everything alright? You seem kind of upset by this."

"Oh no! No, I'm not. Honest." She quickly corrected as she perked up.

"Elaine… I'm not quite buying this. I mean, I'm naturally paranoid as it is but I think there's a little more to this than paranoia."

She sighed, "Well… does this mean that you're leaving New York?"

"Well yeah. I think the commute from New York to Chicago would get to be a bit much, don't ya think?"

She couldn't help but laugh, "I guess that was a stupid question."

"There's more." He grinned.

Perking up for real this time, she responded, "There is?"

"Of course! You didn't think that I was just saying, 'See ya babe, I'll be going now. Make sure to write' did you?"

"Well…" she blushed.

He laughed, "Don't be silly!" he took another deep breath before continuing, "Elaine, I want you to come with me."

Her eyes grew wide, "To Chicago?"

"Yes to Chicago!"

"Oh wow, uh… gee. This is just so sudden…" she stammered a bit.

"Would a few days to think about it help?"

She nodded, "Yeah. That'd be good. Uh, when do you need to know by?"

"Let's see, well I leave for Chicago in 2 weeks."

Elaine gasped, "Two weeks? You mean you accepted it already?"

Arnie was puzzled, "Yeah… was that a bad idea?"

"No. I guess it's presumptuous of me to think that you wouldn't have accepted it. I mean it's a great opportunity."

He panicked, "Should I have talked about it with you first? Darn it! Why didn't I think? It's just that I've never been in such a serious relationship. I'm used to it just being me. I'm sorry, Elaine."

"No, no, don't be sorry! I'm glad you took the job. I wouldn't want to get in the way."

Arnie took Elaine's hands, "Sweetheart, don't think that I didn't think of you at all. I kind of hoped that this would be a perfect opportunity to start a whole new life together."

"What do you mean? Like… marriage?" she said hopefully.

"Maybe… eventually… not right away. I mean, I'll need time to adjust to the new job and environment. But I know that I want you by my side."

"Oh," she sighed, "well… let me think about it over the next few days. Because it's not only me, I have to consider Jason and Jennifer."

"I know." He smiled sympathetically realizing that this would be a difficult decision. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They finished the rest of their dinner in silence.


	5. More News

**Chapter 5**

Arnie could sense that Elaine wanted some time alone, so he didn't hint for an invitation to stay. He simply dropped her home and gave her the space she clearly needed. Once he had left, Elaine poured herself a drink and slumped down onto the couch. What was she going to do? There's so much to consider- the kids, her job at the gallery, her friends at the garage, and New York City in general. She had always loved New York. Growing up in Buffalo, she was able to visit from time to time. Her aunt would take her every year for her birthday. Even since she was a little girl she had dreamed of living in the city. Even now she couldn't imagine living any place else. Unfortunately, that was at the bottom of her list of things to consider. It was almost as if she were back in a day about two years ago; she was offered a job in Seattle and only had a few hours to think about it. Of course she didn't take it. Well, she **did **take it but only after intense stress, throwing a tantrum, and oh yeah, punching her potential boss in the stomach. Thinking about that, Elaine couldn't help but wonder why this decision would be hard. She was willing to start a new life then. Then again, it was a very different situation. Also, when she didn't get the job in Seattle, there was a lot of relief that she wouldn't have to leave. What would she do for work in Chicago anyway? She supposed she could find a gallery, but her connections were here. If she went to Chicago she'd have to start from the bottom and work her way back up. Not that she was even considered 'up' as it was. There was so much in New York that she loved and couldn't imagine living without; but what about Arnie? How could she live without Arnie? She had never been so happy with anyone before. He always knew how to make her laugh and smile, even when she was in the worst of moods. She also had to consider Jennifer and Jason. They adored Arnie. If she said no about moving to Chicago, how would they react to losing him? All these thoughts rushed to Elaine all at once and she couldn't help but cry. Elaine was very intelligent, very nurturing and loving, a wonderful single mother, and so much more; but when it came to making big, life changing decisions like this, she has a hard time handling it.

Once she calmed herself down, she figured the best thing to do for tonight was to get some sleep. Then tomorrow she'd talk to the guys and see what they thought. _If I do end up going to Chicago, I sure will miss them. They've helped me through so much. Whenever I'm faced with a problem, I know that they are always there to help me… _she sadly thought. Just then, the phone rang. "Hello?" she answered. "Hey Elaine!" Simka replied cheerfully.

"Hi Simka, how are you?"

"Elaine, I have the most wonderful news!" she exclaimed.

Elaine laughed, "It sure sounds like you do! What's the news?"

"I'm going to have a baby!" Simka shrieked.

Elaine gasped and shrieked herself, "Oh my gosh, you are?!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Oh Simka, that is so great! I'm so happy for you, and for Latka!"

"Thank you! You just had to be the first of our friends that I told."

Elaine smiled, "Aw, that's so sweet." Over the past few months, Elaine and Simka had become really close friends. It happened one night when Latka had received news that his Uncle Dabi was ill and had to fly home to the old country. Simka couldn't go along because she was in the final stages of getting her green card. It was the first time in their marriage that they would be apart. Seeing how upset Simka was, Elaine offered to have Simka stay the first night with her. They really bonded and stayed up most of the night talking. Though it's not like that was the first time they ever really talked. There had been several times. One time when something was bothering Simka (she never quite found out what) and she came to Elaine. First, she asked Elaine if she was religious. Elaine answered as best as she could, then Simka told her to ask her if she was religious. Elaine obeyed and Simka answered with a quick "For sure." Then Simka asked Elaine if she were religious and her spiritual advisor told her to do something 'that just made her flesh crawl' what she would do. Elaine answered, "I'd get another spiritual advisor." Simka started to say how it wasn't so simple for her. Then she changed the subject and wanted to talk about men. She started to ask what Tony was like (at this point Simka was still fairly new to the group). As Elaine began to answer but Simka interrupted and shouted "What's Alex like?" Elaine asked why she was shouting but Simka denied it. She asked if Alex was a nice guy. Elaine sensed that there was more to Simka's question than just wanting to know if Alex was nice; so she came right out and asked her to tell her what she really wanted to know. Of course, she said that unaware of what Simka wanted to know. "I was wondering about you and Alex… did you?" Simka shyly asked. The question certainly threw Elaine of guard. The truth of the matter was that she and Alex had indeed 'did', once when they were on vacation in Europe together. But they both agreed that it was a one-time thing. Alex had been depressed because he could not get a date if even his life depended on it while Elaine was able to get a date everywhere they went. Elaine felt bad because she had begged him to go on the trip with her. So on their last night there, Elaine said to him, "We've known each other for four years now. We've seen each other depressed, neurotic, sad, angry, hostile, stupid, ugly… and yet, we've still remained friends. Maybe our friendship is strong enough to survive one night of… love." After a very long and intense pause, Alex responded by saying, "You wanna go for a walk?" at which Elaine replied, "I'd love too." She and Alex both agreed that it would be their secret. So when Simka asked if they had, Elaine panicked. She stammered and answered by saying, "Simka, to tell you the truth, I'd say no, no matter what the truth was." Simka graciously accepted her answer. Another time they had had a conversation just between the two of them was when Elaine had met Arnie. Granted, it wasn't a long, heart to heart conversation but a conversation all in the same. So when Elaine invited Simka to stay, they both saw it as an opportunity to become closer, and indeed it turned out to be; ever since then they spoke to each other (or saw each other) at least every other day.

Elaine continued after a pause, "So how far along are you?"

"About three months the doctor said." Simka chirped.

"That's so great Simka!"

Simka giggled, "Thank you, I'd love to talk more but I have to tell everyone else. But I'll call you tomorrow."

"Alright, talk to you then." she was about to say goodbye but then she thought, "Oh wait, Simka?"

"Yes?"

"I need to stop by the garage tomorrow because I want to talk to the guys about something… do you think that you could come as well?"

"Of course! Besides, I want to show you my pictures."

"What pictures?" Elaine asked.

Simka answered, "You know those ones the doctor takes- the ones of the baby."

"Oh, you mean a sonogram?" Elaine laughed.

"Oh yeah, that's what it's called!"

"Okay, sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"You bet'cha. Goodbye!"

"Bye-bye. And congratulations!"

"Thank you, Elaine."

Elaine hung up the phone, leaned back, and smiled. After a moment though, her smiled faded, "Well… guess I need to add that to the list of reasons to stay in New York…"


	6. Opinions

**Chapter 6**

The next morning, Elaine woke up with a major hangover. It was a bad habit of hers to drink heavily when she was upset. Though, this was nothing compared to the hangover she had the morning after her date with Louie. It chilled her to even call it a date. The cabbies had gone on strike because their lives were in danger due to the lack of work being put into the cabs. The wheels had no treads, the brakes kept going out, some of the windows didn't roll down which was just awful in the summer, some of the heaters didn't work which made working in the winter terrible, and not to mention that some cabs were just plain old and needed to be retired. The only way Louie was willing to settle the strike out of court was if Elaine agreed to go out on a date with him. She painfully agreed. The day of the date she drank nonstop until Louie showed up. She even washed the Valium she took down with alcohol. Then when she and Louie got to the restaurant, she drank six Monsoons. She didn't really know what was in them, but according to Louie said it was a Tide Pool (the name of the restaurant at which they dined) record. Apparently there was a **lot **alcohol in one of those. She had no doubt in her mind that that was the worst hangover in the history of all hangovers. Now, whenever she had a hangover, she'd think of that day and somehow it made the one she had seem not as bad.

Sluggishly, Elaine crawled out of bed. She was shocked to see that it was almost noon. She took something for her head, had breakfast- er, lunch, got dressed, and then headed to the garage.

When she got the garage, to her dismay, she was only greeted by Louie. The others hadn't arrived yet. Louie looked up from his papers and looked at Elaine, "Well hello there, Nardo." He said with his usual sly grin and suggestive tone. He never gave up on his attempt to score with Elaine. It didn't matter if she was in a relationship or not. Heck, he's hit on her when her dates were standing right next to her. Elaine usually reacted depending on her mood. If she was in a good mood, she'd just let it roll off of her. Sometimes she'd have a comeback. If she were mad she'd yell and scream at him and on special occasions, slap him. If she were sad she'd stay quiet and one of the other guys would tell him to knock it off. Right now, she was unsure of her mood; and she didn't have the help of the other guys. Her instant reaction was a groan, which Louie reciprocated with a smirk. She walked up to his cage and snapped, "Look Louie, I can't even begin to tell you how much I'm not in the mood for this pathetic display today, got it?"

Louie gasped, pretending to be deeply offended. "Gee, I don't know what to say… I mean, all I said was a simple hello…"

"Yeah, your words were a simple hello but your tone and expression made it into a cheap pass."

Louie came out of his cage, perusing his hurt act, "Nardo I… I just can't believe you feel that way. You couldn't be more wrong. I'd be lying if I said I- that I'm not hurt… but it's nothing a roll in the hay won't cure." He laughed his infamous, Louie DePalma laugh.

"Louie! Just knock it off!" she yelled, "I have enough on my plate right now, I do **not **have it in me to deal with you!" she kicked the wall and stomped over to the table and sat down. Now Louie knew that there was something terribly wrong with Elaine. Despite his cheap passes and suggestions, he really did care for Elaine. Slowly he walked over to her and sat down next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Elaine sarcastically laughed, "With you? I don't think so."

Louie sighed, "Look Nardo, I know how I can be a real pest sometime… but I don't mean anything by it… well… I mean some… okay a lot- but I honestly wish you'd tell me what's bothering you."

She thought for a moment, she supposed that getting Louie's opinion wasn't such a bad idea. Yeah, for the most part he was an animal, but he had his human moments. Like one time, Elaine had caught him peeping on her when she was changing in the bathroom. Elaine was so mad. She brought in a woman from the National Organization for Women in to complain to the owner of the garage. Louie ended up being fired. Later, he showed up at Elaine's apartment begging her to give him a second chance. Elaine didn't want have anything to do with him ever again. Louie was determined though. After a huge scene, which involved throwing up, passing out, and scaring off Elaine's date, Elaine finally tried to reason with him. She told him that if he could tell her why what he did was wrong that she would give him a second chance. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't an easy thing for him to come up with. Finally, Elaine asked if he had ever been violated, and if he ever had how it felt. Louie then really opened up and told Elaine about how when he goes clothes shopping, he has to go to the huskie boys section. How it feels when the mothers have to tell their kids not to stare. He even mentioned the one time when one of the mothers came up to him and said, "You're lucky, at least you won't outgrow it in six months." Elaine genuinely felt sorry for Louie. She was even crying. She gave Louie a second chance. There was also the time when she had what could have been the biggest night of her life and she wanted to treat herself to a special, two hundred dollar haircut. It was special all right. Have you ever seen the original Saturday Night Live character, Roseanne Roseannadanna (played by Gilda Radner)? If you have then picture her hair, you know, wild, poofy, and messy? Well Elaine's hair looked like that- only with a lot more red and possibly more volume. It was definitely not a style she, or anyone, would have chosen. The stylist she went to, Vincenzo Senaca, was extremely unkind to her. He pressured her into making her trust him with her hair and to not have her look in the mirror. Poor Elaine just wanted to at least pretend like she was part of his world; the upper-class world where she could afford to spoil herself with fancy hairdos, fancy clothes, fancy events, and fancy food. Vincenzo couldn't even give her that. When she looked in the mirror and saw what he had done to her she let out a scream and cried, "What did you do?! What did you do to my hair?!" she ran off to get her coat while Vincenzo got everyone in the salon to gather around to see what he had done. Elaine continued to cry as everyone laughed and stared at her. Vincenzo's receptionist made the humiliation worse by taking a picture 'for the book'. All Elaine wanted to do was to get out of there. She paid the two hundred dollars and as she was running out Vincenzo cruelly said, "Well, I guess I just can't do cab drivers." Elaine went back to the garage and walked in still sobbing. It took him a second, but Alex was the first to notice; then Tony once he realized who it was behind all that hair. They both tried calming her down, though Tony wasn't much help- unintentionally of course. The same went for Jim. Then Elaine realized that she still had to face whatever Louie had to say. Much to Elaine, Alex, and Tony's surprise, Louie was sympathetic. At first he thought that Elaine was the one who chose the look. He kept asking if she was feeling 'self-destructive' and if this was a 'twisted cry for help'. Tony informed Louie that it was the hairdresser who did it. Louie was raging mad. He and Tony were about to go beat up the guy but Alex stopped them. Especially considering that Tony used to be a professional boxer, and going and punching the guy would only lead to trouble. Alex continued to talk to Elaine about what had exactly happy. She explained how he 'treated her like dirt'. Alex gathered that Elaine was madder about sitting down and taking it more so than how her hair looked. He pushed her to go back and confront him and said that he'd take her. He asked Elaine where the salon was and she answered, "Fifty third and Lex." Which Louie overheard and followed them. At the salon, Elaine tried talking maturely with Vincenzo but he had no interest. It started getting hectic again, **especially **when Louie showed up. Louie was incredibly furious. Alex had to sit him in the corner of the room. By the end of the confrontation, Elaine wanted pay back. She was holding two tubes of dye over his head. But she came to her senses with help from Alex. "Elaine! Elaine, don't- don't, Elaine!" Alex said once she was very ready to squeeze those tubes of dye on Vincenzo. "You'll be no better than him!" he finished. Elaine looked at Vincenzo and said, putting the tubes down, "You're right, Alex. I'm a **lot **better than he is. Come on let's go." She headed for the door. Louie called after her, "Wait for me!" He then stood up and grabbed a bowl of gunky hair dye and dumped it on Vincenzo's head and then said, "She may be better than you- but I ain't!" Elaine considered it to be the 'nice' Louie memory. After thinking about those moments for a minute Elaine sighed, "Alright Louie, I'll tell you." She took a deep breath, "So… Arnie was offered a very good job in Chicago; and he took it." Louie nodded as she continued, "He has asked me to move with him. I am very conflicted as to what I should do."

Louie was dumbfounded, "What are you saying, Nardo? That you're leaving New York?"

"That's my problem. I just can't decide. I love this city so much. I love all the people, all the places, the atmosphere… everything. But I also love Arnie."

"Gee Nardo…" he frowned, "I wish I knew what to say. I don't want to accidentally say the wrong thing..."

Elaine smiled at his sincerity, "Thanks Louie."

He continued, "Advice like this isn't really my thing. This is something you should talk to Reiger about."

She nodded, "Yeah… I hope he gets here soon." Just then Tony walked in. "Hey Elaine, hey Louie." He greeted.

Elaine quickly stood up, "Tony! I'm so glad you're here."

Louie laughed, "Ha! You'd have better luck talking about this with Iggy!"

She glared at him, "I want everyone's opinion."

"What's going on?" Tony questioned.

Louie started to answer, "Nardo's lea-" Elaine cut him off, "Louie, let me be the one to tell him." Louie respectfully backed off and went back to his cage. Elaine gestured to Tony to sit down. "Tony… I have something big to tell you, and I'd really like to hear what you think." Tony sat down and nodded, "I'm listening."

"You know how serious Arnie and I have been getting right?" she began, "Well… he's taken a job in Chicago and he wants me to go with him. What do you think?"

Tony was silent for a moment, "Uh… what do I think?" Elaine nodded then he continued, "I think you should talk to Alex."

Elaine rolled her eyes, "Come on Tony, this is the same thing you said when I was offered that job in Seattle. I really want to know what you think I should do, that doesn't involve me asking someone else what they think."

Tony sulked, "Well I don't really know what I should say."

"You should say what's on your mind."

Louie shouted from his cage, "Give him a break Nardo, Banta doesn't have a thought in his head."

Tony angrily turned to Louie and shouted, "I do too Louie!" he turned back to Elaine, "Well… do you love Arnie?"

"Of course, I do!"

"Uh…" he stammered, "Do you love New York?"

"Yes…"

He quickly finished, "I think you should talk to Alex." He got up and went to the restroom. Elaine half laughed, "Thank you so much, Tony."

Elaine continued to wait for her friends. The next to come in was Jim. He announced his arrival as he often did, turned in his earnings, and laid down on the bench to take a nap. Everyone always wondered why he didn't bother to just go home, though sometimes he'd nap in between shifts and it was more convenient for him to just stay put. Before he had the chance to fall asleep, Elaine walked over to him and kneeled down. "Jim, can I talk to you about something?" Jim sat up, "Sure, ah, Elaine… What do ya… wanna talk about?" His voice was always stammered due to his heavy drug usage in the sixties. Elaine got up and sat next to him. "You know Arnie right?" Jim thought for a moment, "Arnie… Arnie… I know an Arnie. He's uh… a short, bald guy with a lisp right?" Elaine smiled at the thought of Arnie, but snapped back in to the moment, "Yes, that's him. Well, he got a job in Chicago, and he wants me to go along with him. But I don't know what I should do."

Jim gasped, "Whoa, Chicago. Chicago is a nice place."

"Oh, have you been?" she asked.

"I may have… or maybe- maybe that was Florida…"

Elaine chuckled, "Anyways… I want to get everyone's opinion."

"We would all miss you terrible if you left..."

She sighed, "I'd miss you all so much too."

Jim continued, "But on the other hand we, uh, shouldn't hold you back. This could- uh could be a great opportunity. You know… uh, it would give you a chance to drive a cab in a whole new place."

Elaine thought, _Well… at least he's actually giving me a civil answer. But if I move I don't want to have to drive a cab. But realistically, what would I do? Having to start all over at a gallery wouldn't pay much, and I don't want to rely on Arnie to take care of me and the kids. It's not fair especially if he's just starting a new job. That's one more stress. It'd be different if we were getting married. _That brought another worry to mind. What if her and Arnie never end up getting married? What if they break up? Then she would be all alone in Chicago. Sure, she could always move back to New York, but again, for the most part, she would have to start over. Finally she responded to Jim, "Thanks Jim. This has been very helpful." Then she got up and sat at the table where Tony now was and they began to play a game of cards. Louie, who had been listening her Elaine and Jim's conversation, slithered out of his cage and scurried over to Jim, "What were you thinking, Ignatowski?"

Jim cleared his throat, "Well boss, funny you sh- should ask that. I was just thinking about the time when I went and saw E.T. for the first time… I-" Louie cut him off, "Not right before I came over here you pea brain! What were you thinking when you told Nardo to go to Chicago?"

Jim gasped, "Elaine's going to Chicago?!"

Louie grunted, "Why do I think I can have a conversation with you?"

"You've got me there…"

Louie rolled his eyes and continued, "Just **try **to keep it in your head that if Nardo should talk to you again about moving to Chicago or staying here make sure you tell her to stay here!"

"Why can't you, uh, tell her boss?"

In a hushed tone Louie answered, "Because this way if Nardo gets upset she won't be mad at me! If she gets mad at you she won't hold a grudge. If she gets mad at me I'm pretty much dead to her."

Jim shook his head out of confusion and slowly laid back down. Louie gave him a look before going back to his cage.

About fifteen minutes later, Latka and Simka gleefully came into the garage. "Hello everybody!" Simka cheered. Immediately, everyone happily shouted and rush over to them and smothered them with hugs and congratulations.

"I have pictures!" Simka said as she held them high above her head. She walked over to the table and the all gathered. Elaine was almost in tears at the sight; she couldn't help but remember when she saw her first sonogram photo of Jason (her eldest). She was just so happy for Simka, and maybe there was a bit of sorrow knowing that there was a possibility that she wouldn't be around when this baby was growing up. She starred at the pictures completely lost in her thoughts; that is until she was interrupted by Tony's voice. "I don't get what we're looking at here." He stated. "I thought this was a picture of the baby."

Simka laughed, "It **is **a picture of the baby silly! Look," she pointed out the shape of the baby.

"Oh, I see it!" Tony exclaimed.

Simka smiled.

Louie had gone back to his cage and announced over the loudspeaker, "Okay, let's get some cabs out there, shall we? Goodman: 1128. Evans: 1207. Banta: 421. Regan: 719. Latka I want you to start working on cab 816. Everyone scurried off to work as Elaine and Simka continued looking at the ultrasound pictures. Elaine spoke, "Simka, I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am for you. I know how badly you've wanted a child." Simka grinned and replied, "Thank you, I can't wait until she's born!"

Elaine smiled, "So you know it's a girl?"

"Yep," Simka nodded, "I do feel bad though… Latka wanted it to be a surprise but I just couldn't wait to find out! I mean, I wanna be somewhat prepared when she's born as far as her bed and some clothes, you know?"

Elaine agreed, "I know exactly what you are talking about. I was the same way! Also my mother wanted to buy things for the baby as well as my grandparents. At first, my ex-husband and I agreed that I could know as long as nobody told him. It went well for a while but then at Thanksgiving, one of my brothers accidently let it slip. When Jennifer came along he didn't bother trying not to know."

Simka laughed but slowly her laugh faded and she had an anxious look about her. She nervously asked, "Elaine… is it hard to be a mother?"

"I'm not going to lie to you," she began, "it's not a walk in the park. There are some moments where you think that you can't take the stress of parenthood for another moment. But then, when you look at your precious child, you know how rewarding and worthwhile being a mother really is."

Simka's smile reappeared, "Really?"

"Really."

"Thanks so much, Elaine."

"You're welcome." They were silent for a moment as each of them fiddled with the stack of playing cards lying in front of them, and then Simka remembered, "Oh, did you mention that you had something that you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh… yeah. I did." Elaine gloomily replied.

Simka grew serious, "Is everything okay?"

"Not exactly… it has to do with me and Arnie."

"Oh no, you broke up!" Simka panicked.

Elaine quickly tried to calm her, "No, no- Simka relax. We didn't break up!"

"Oh… excuse me for that little outburst… it won't happen again. I promise."

Elaine laughed slightly, "Good, not for my sake though, for the sake of your baby!"

"Please, continue."

"So Arnie received this incredible job offer as Vice President of a bank in Chicago and he took it; and he wants me to move to Chicago with him."

Simka frowned, "Oh… so you are leaving to go be with him in Chicago?" she sadly asked, afraid to hear the answer.

Elaine sighed, "I don't know yet. That's the problem. I love Arnie so much, and I want to be with him. But I also don't want to leave everything and everyone I have in New York. Especially now that you're having a baby. I've been asking everyone here what they think and so far what they've said hasn't helped me too, too much. What do you think?"

"I think you should dump Arnie. Dump him. He's a creep and you two are completely wrong for each other. Dump him and stay here." Simka said almost too fast to be understood; especially with her accent.

Elaine laughed nervously from shock on what she had just heard Simka say. "Simka, what are you saying? You were the one who set me and Arnie up together!"

She sighed, "I know… I just… I don't want you to leave. If you leave that makes me the only woman around here. Who's going to help me through my pregnancy?"

Elaine couldn't help but tear up, "Oh Simka… the guys will be here for you."

"I mean someone who actually knows who I'm going through... someone who I can talk to about anything."

Now the tears fell from Elaine's eyes, she leaned over and hugged Simka, "You know I'll always be a phone call away. And if need be I will fly here if you need me, even if it's just to talk."

Tears now started to appear in Simka's eyes, "I sure will miss you Elaine. And I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have. I should have been less selfish and more supportive."

"You don't need to apologize." She sat back up and wiped away her tears, as well as Simka. Elaine added, "And look, I haven't made my mind up officially yet. So there's no need for crying now, right?" she forced a smile at which Simka reciprocated. Simka then stood up, "Well, I have some things I need to go do. Will you please let me know when you've made up your mind?"

"Of course."

"And again, just forget what I said about me wanting you to dump Arnie and stay here. I'm behind whatever decision you make."

"Thanks Simka."

Simka waved and turned towards the door, "Bye."

"Bye… and take it easy you." Elaine said gesturing to Simka's stomach.

Simka nodded and went on her way. Elaine slumped back into her chair and breathed. That was pretty much everyone. She figured that talking with Simka also included Latka because they pretty much agreed with anything the other had to say. Besides, Louie hated whenever anyone distracted the mechanics. All that was left was to talk to Alex. But where** was **Alex?


	7. Final Opinion

**Chapter 7**

Elaine waited for what felt like hours and hours for Alex to show up. It was driving her crazy wondering where he was. She couldn't help but wonder if he was hurt or in trouble or something. Finally she had had enough and walked over to Louie's cage and asked, "Louie, have you heard anything from Alex? I'm really starting to get worried."

Louie looked up from the paperwork he was looking through, "Oh yeah, he called about an hour ago saying that he couldn't come in today."

Elaine was furious and glared at Louie, "You mean you're telling me that he called an hour ago and you didn't tell me?!"

"Sorry, sorry. You were over there talking and crying over baby pictures. I didn't want to disturb you."

"You could have told me after Simka left! Come on! You know that I have something bothering me. You know that I want to talk to Alex! Did he say where he was?" she asked anxiously.

He shrugged, "No, he just said he wasn't up for driving today."

"Okay," she groaned, "he must be at home." She quickly grabbed her coat and purse, left the garage and headed for Alex's apartment.

When she arrived at Alex's she took a moment before knocking on the door. This was the last of her friends she had to talk too. And out of all of them, she respected Alex's opinion the most. She always had. Once she talked to him that was it. The decision would be up to her- well other than Jennifer and Jason. She fought back the tears that came from the thought and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Alex shouted from inside.

"Alex, it's me. I really need to talk to you." She stated. Alex paused for a moment and thought, _Elaine's here? I thought she'd be with Arnie. Unless… maybe he didn't propose. Did they break up? _He couldn't help but feel somewhat relived. The reason he hadn't gone into work was because he was upset about Arnie and Elaine getting engaged. He knew why he was feeling relived but at the same time he didn't. He knew why he was because he had pretty strong feelings for Elaine. He didn't know why because he never acted on those feelings. In fact, he had done the opposite at times. He figured that there would always be a chance for them, even if they were with other people. Because, well let's face it. The both of them were pretty bad at staying in a long term relationships- which was one of the reasons he feared acting on his feelings. But marriage was different. Marriage was permanent or most likely permanent- forever. When Elaine told him last night that she thought Arnie was going to propose it officially hit him; he had missed his opportunity to be with Elaine and that they would never be together. He realized that he had yet to let Elaine in and then swiftly opened the door, "Oh hey, come on in." Elaine obeyed and timidly walked in. Alex could sense that something was really bothering her. "Is everything alright?" he asked as he sat down on the couch, motioning to her to join him. Elaine slowly sat down next to him while taking a deep breath. She began, "Remember last night when I told you that I thought Arnie was going to propose to me?" Alex nodded, trying to hide his dismay. Elaine carried on, "Well… he didn't exactly ask me to marry him… he asked me to do something else though."

Alex looked at her with confusion, "What did he ask you? Did he ask you to move in?"

Elaine shrugged, "In a way I guess… he asked me to move to Chicago with him." She said wearily, she was tired of having to say it because it just made it seem even more real... which it was.

"Chicago?!" Alex reacted, "Why is he moving to Chicago?"

"He received a job offer as Vice President at the bank in Chicago. You see, the bank he works at now is branching out, and one of the locations is Chicago. It's a wonderful opportunity for him."

Alex was silent for a moment before speaking, "So… I suppose he took it?"

She nodded slightly, "Yeah."

"Did he at least talk to you about it first?" he added.

"No… he shouldn't have needed too anyway, despite my initial reaction. It's not like we're married or even living together." She sighed.

Alex nodded even though he didn't fully agree. But he didn't want to bring **that **up. Instead he asked, "Do you know what you're going to do yet?

Elaine gloomily shook her head, "No. That's the problem; I'm completely conflicted by everything. I've asked everyone today what I should do, but their answers haven't been the most helpful…"

"Well what do Jason and Jennifer think?"

"I haven't asked them…" she admitted.

Alex was a bit surprised, "You haven't asked them yet? I'd think they would be the first you'd ask seeing as it involved them too."

"I know…" she sighed, "but I didn't want to ask them over the phone. They're at their father's house this weekend."

"Oh, I see."

"So, I need to know…" she paused and took yet another deep breath, "what do you think I should do?"

Alex was quiet. He honestly didn't know what to say. He definitely didn't want her to leave, but it wasn't about him and what he wanted. He had to think of what was best for Elaine- even if it meant that she'd leave New York and move to Chicago… with Arnie. "Elaine, I… I don't think I can answer."

"Come on, Alex. Please… It's not like I'm telling you to tell me what to do. I just want your honest opinion."

"Do you love Arnie?" it pained him to even think those words, now he was saying them. Even worse, he knew the answer and he'd have to hear it anyway.

"I really do."

Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he didn't know if he'd be able to breath after saying what he was about to say. "Then it's not worth giving him up. You should go with him to Chicago."

It was taking Elaine everything she had to fight the urge to cry. "You really think so?"

Alex nodded, that was all he could manage.

"There's one thing that really worries me about going."

"What's that?" he asked weakly.

"When he asked me, I brought up the possibility of marriage."

"What did he say?"

She turned away, "He got such a strange look in his eyes… one I've never seen before." She was staring into space. Almost as if she was replaying the scene from the night before in her mind. She then turned back and looked at Alex, "Alex, I don't want to make the move if there's a chance I won't be marrying him. If I move I will be giving up almost everything. My job, my friends… I'll be starting over in a whole new place. It'd be different if I were going for me. Like, if I were the one who got the job offer. Alex… I'm scared."

Alex looked at Elaine sympathetically and took her hands, "I know it's scary. I know that there's a lot on the line. But I know you, and I know that you run on love. And you really appear to love Arnie. So isn't it worth the risk for him?"

Elaine just looked at Alex, unable to speak. After a minute or two Alex asked, "Are you alright?" Elaine shook her head as if she had been awoken from a very deep thought. "Um… I guess- I guess so." She stood up, "Thanks Alex… This has been very helpful." She began to head for the door.

Alex stood up as well and followed her. "Have you made up your mind?" she was terrified to hear the answer.

"I think so."

Trying to hide his frustration he asked, "What is it?"

Elaine bit her lip nervously, "When Jennifer and Jason come home tomorrow I'm going to ask what they think. Whatever they decide will be what we'll do."

"Sounds like a good plan." He smiled. She half smiled back and gave him a quick hug, "Thank you so much, Alex."

"You're welcome…"

Elaine went on her way. Alex shut the door behind her and sat back down on the couch. He was desperately trying not to cry himself, but he couldn't help it. He had a pretty good idea what the kids would decide. They adored Arnie and wouldn't give him up for the world. He knew that his days with Elaine were limited and it broke his heart.


	8. Jennifer and Jason

**Chapter 8**

Elaine spent the rest of the weekend home alone, literally counting the hours and minutes until Jason and Jennifer came home. Arnie hadn't called, figuring she was deciding on what to do. Also, he could tell she needed some space. The only people she talked to were Simka and Vince, her ex-husband. She had to talk to him before she brought the moving situation up with the kids. He said that it'd be hard not seeing them as much as he does now, but his work takes him to Chicago quite frequently so he would be able to see them then. This was definitely a relief for Elaine seeing as that was one thought that had almost failed to cross her mind. Finally, the time came for Jennifer and Jason to be home. The minute they arrived she sat them down at the kitchen table and began to talk to them.

"So guys, there's something important I want to talk to you about."

"Are we getting a puppy?!" Jennifer shouted with much hope in her voice.

Elaine laughed, "No sweetie, we are not getting a puppy. Now, this is very important so I want you guys to both listen carefully, alright?" The two kids nodded simultaneously. Elaine went on, "Arnie has gotten a new job and it's in Chicago. He wants us all to move there with him."

Jason and Jennifer both stood up and started screaming with joy, "Alright! We're going to Chicago!" Jason bellowed. "Oh boy, Chicago!" Jennifer added, and then she thought a moment, "Wait a minute… where is Chicago again?"

Elaine answered, "Its west of where we are now. But you have to keep some things in mind."

"Like what?" they questioned.

"Like the fact that you'd be going to a new school, you'd have to leave your friends here and make new ones, and you wouldn't be able to see your father as much."

The smiles left from their faced. Jason asked, "What would happen to Arnie if we stayed here?"

Elaine frowned, "I'm afraid he and I would have to break up."

"No!" they shouted.

"I know. It's definitely a bittersweet situation…" she paused before going on. "Look, I'm leaving this decision up to you guys. You don't have to give me an answer right this second. But I'll need to know by sometime tomorrow. If we go we will be leaving in two weeks- maybe sooner."

"Why so soon?" asked Jennifer.

Elaine shrugged, "That's when Arnie needs to be there to start the job I guess." Jason and Jennifer nodded. Elaine smiled, "You two run off to bed now." The two obeyed, giving their mother a big hug. Jennifer ran into her and Jason's bedroom while Jason walked slowly. Before he went in he turned to Elaine and asked, "Mommy, why are you leaving this decision up too us?"

Elaine was puzzled for a moment, she hadn't looked at it as leaving such a big, life altering decision up to two small children; until now that is." She walked over to Jason, "If it's too much for you to handle just tell me. The only reason I left it up to you was because… well I'll be honest. I left it up to you guys because I couldn't make it myself. So I figured it all came down to how you and your sister felt. Remember? The three of us are a team!" she winked.

Jason smiled, "We can handle it, don't worry Mommy, we'll make a good decision."

Elaine gave Jason another big hug, "That's my boy! I'm sure you will. Now off to bed, it's already past your bedtime." Jason then ran into the bedroom.

Jennifer was already lying in her bed when Jason came in. He slipped into his pajamas and climbed into his bed as well. He whispered to Jennifer, "You awake?"

She whispered back, "Yes. I'm trying to think if we should move or not."

"Me too." Jason replied.

"What do you think we should do?" Jennifer asked curiously.

"I don't know…"

"Me either. Well, I kind of do." She stated.

Jason shot her a look from across the room, though it wasn't very visible in the dark even with a night light. "What do you mean you kind of do?"

"I mean that I'd say let's go to Chicago if it weren't for Erica. I'd miss her so much, she's my best friend."

Jason suggested, "You could be pen pals."

"What's a pen pal?" Jennifer questioned.

"A pen pal is a friend that lives far away from you and you write letters back and forth to each other. Then if we come and visit Daddy I'm sure you would be able to see her. Besides, you can make new friends in Chicago. Better friends than Erica." Jason and Erica were enemies since they day they had met. Neither of them knew why really, they just instantly disliked each other and have never gotten along well.

Jennifer perked up at the thought of Erica becoming her pen pal, "That sounds like fun!" she then scoffed at his remark about finding better friends than Erica, "No one will ever be better than Erica!" Jason just rolled his eyes as Jennifer finished, "Anyways, my vote is that we move to Chicago with Arnie."

"I think that's what I vote too."

"Really? What about William? And your soccer team?"

"Yeah, I'd miss William. But we could be pen pals too. And I'm sure they have soccer in Chicago. Besides, my team stinks this year. I was put on the same team as a bunch of people I hate. I just don't want Mommy and Arnie to break up. Mommy seems too happy when he's around." Jason sincerely answered and stated.

"Yeah…" she smiled, "and I love Arnie too."

He smiled also, "Me too."

Jennifer yawned, "Should we go tell Mommy?"

"No," he yawned as well, "I'm tired. Let's go to sleep and tell her in the morning."

Jennifer agreed and they both drifted off to sleep, dreaming about what life in Chicago would be like.


	9. The Decision Is Made

**Chapter 9**

The next morning, Jennifer and Jason got up extra early to surprise their mother with breakfast. Though, all they knew how to make was toast. So Jennifer attempted cutting the pieces of toast into a heart. They quietly snuck into Elaine's room and put the tray on the table next to her bed then crawled up onto the bed.

"Mommy, it's time to wake up!" Jennifer nudged.

Jason added, "We brought you toast!"

Elaine slowly opened her eyes and looked, "Oh wow! You guys made this all by yourselves?"

They nodded and Jennifer said, "I cut it into a heart. Do you like it?"

Elaine sat up and rubbed her eyes to clear her vision as Jason took the tray off the side table and placed it in front of her. Elaine gasped, "I love it! Thank you guys so much!" she grabbed them both and hugged them. "So what's the occasion?"

"What do you mean?" Jennifer questioned.

"Well it's not every day I get breakfast in bed." She winked.

Jason put his hand on Elaine's shoulder, "Mommy, we made our decision."

Elaine's eyes widened, "Wow, already?"

Jennifer nodded proudly, "We decided last night." At which Jason's response to her was a signal to shush so they wouldn't get in trouble for being up late.

"It's okay," Elaine laughed, "I'll let it slide this time. So… what did you decide?"

Jason and Jennifer glanced at each other, smiled, and said at the same time, "We want to go to Chicago."

Elaine was silent for a moment. This was it; the final decision. She figured that they would choose to move- she was expecting it actually. Then how come she was feeling so surprised? "Alright then… I'll call Arnie and have him come over right now."

"Yahoo!" the two shouted.

Elaine laughed, "Okay you two go get dressed while I make the call." Without another word they scurried off into their room. She learned over to grab the phone and then slowly began to dial Arnie's number. It began to ring. "Hello?" Arnie answered. "Hey Arnie, it's me."

"Oh, Elaine! Boy am I glad to hear from you!"

"Why?" she said puzzled, "what's up?"

"Oh nothing, I've just been worried that I put you in a terrible spot the other night and that I wouldn't hear from you again."

She snickered, "Arnie, you worry way too much. I won't lie; it did catch me off guard. But I've talked with the kids and just about everyone else I know and I have an answer for you."

"Already? Well good to hear! What did you decide?"

"I don't want to tell you over the phone. Can you come over?"

This panicked Arnie a bit, "Uh, sure I can. Give me about a half hour and then I'll be over. Bye." He quickly hung up the phone.

Elaine looked at the receiver and shrugged as she hung it up.

_She's gonna say no. She's gonna say no. Oh my goodness what have I done? She's going to say no! _Arnie freaked. He was so afraid that he was going to lose Elaine forever. And for what, a stupid job at a bank? He quickly got dressed and rushed over to Elaine's.


	10. A New Chapter

**Chapter 10**

Arnie rapidly knocked on the door until Elaine answered. Once the door was opened he rushed in babbling, "Elaine, I just need to say that I know I was an idiot for not asking you first and that if you're planning on breaking my heart and saying no then please, **please **don't beat around the bush… actually scratch that. Beat around the bush. And lastly if the answer is no I'm willing to try long distance. I will promise to not see other people while you are free to see as many people as you wish." At this point Elaine stopped him and laughed, "Arnie, Arnie, calm down!"

"Right, calm down. That's all I need to do. I just need to shut up, sit down, and calm down. I can do that. I think I can do that. No, I have to do that! Oh gosh I'm still talking aren't I? Yes I am. Okay, I am going to sit now and I won't say another word. Not another-"

"Arnie!" Elaine shouted over his nervous ramble, "Seriously, just relax. You have nothing to be worried about." She smiled hinting her answer.

"You mean? You…" he questioned with optimism in his voice.

Just before Elaine was about to speak, Jennifer and Jason came running in yelling, "Arnie! Arnie! We're going with you to Chicago!"

Arnie was so happy that he literally jumped out of his seat and hugged the kids. "You are?!" she shouted with as much enthusiasm as the kids had in their voices. "That's great!" he put his arm around Elaine; inviting her to join the group hug that had formed. Elaine laughed and smiled along with Jason, Arnie, and Jennifer. For this first time since this all had come up she was feeling happy. Genuinely happy. Those kids sure made the right choice. But this wasn't the end of the story where everything faded to black on the happily ever after that appeared to be in front of us. No, this was just the beginning of the next chapter in all of their lives.


	11. Goodbyes

**Chapter 11**

Elaine spent the next two weeks getting everything that needed to be done before moving completed. She had to take care of selling her apartment, luckily that went quickly. She had to transfer Jennifer and Jason to a school in Chicago which took a lot of time, papers, phone calls, and meetings. Also, she had to quit her job at the gallery which pained her. She had grown so much there over the years and now she was leaving. She could only pray that the galleries in Chicago were just as nice as the Hazeltine. And then of course there was the matter of packing everything up. Needless to say, she had a full schedule. Once everything had been finished, she had one last thing that she needed to take care of… something that would be even harder than giving up the gallery; something that she had been dreading and putting off. It was time to turn in her hack license and say goodbye to her friends. She put it off until the last day because she knew how hard it was going to be. She couldn't bear to see them all while she had all of the other things to do. She had called each of them to tell them that she had made her decision. They were all very sad but showed their support. All of them promised that they would take her out for one last dinner at Mario's (the pub which they frequented) and say their goodbyes then. Elaine approached the entrance to Mario's slowly. This was really it. This would be her last night with the guys. "Six years…" she said to herself. She could already feel the tears in her eyes but she blinked them back. Though she knew she was only temporarily stopping them. She was fully aware that she'd be crying more tonight than she did when she said goodbye to all her friends in high school. Bravely, she walked in with a smile. "Hi everyone!" she greeted as happily as she could. Instantaneously, everyone stood up and ran over to hug her and said their hellos. During dinner, Elaine gave them all her new address and phone number. They also talked about some of the great memories they had had. Latka spoke up, "Re- remember the time my country had a revolution and I was going to go back and go fight? You all threw me a going away party here."

Tony perked up, "Oh yeah! Boy that was a fun night, huh? Singing and dancing-"

Jim butted in, "And drinking…"

Tony laughed, "Yes, a lot of that too."

Alex added, "I have a feeling that we may beat the drinking record tonight though…"

They all sadly nodded in agreement, except for Simka who wasn't drinking anything due to the baby. In fact, so far she had been more emotional than Elaine; despite the fact Elaine became even more upset when she drank when she was upset to begin with. Elaine lifted her glass, "I know I sure will." And finished off what was in her glass. Alex stood up and offered to get her another. Elaine refused, "No, no. I really shouldn't. It's getting to be pretty late and I have an early train tomorrow." They all responded with a frown. Elaine continued, "I guess…" she stopped before she began to cry. She recomposed herself and began again, "I guess all that's left are the goodbyes. Jim… come with me." She grabbed his arm and led him into the back room." Once Elaine was out of site Alex whispered to Tony, "Hey, I'm going to get out of here."

Tony gasped, "What? You can't leave now! Elaine hasn't said goodbye to you."

"I know I know… this is just one goodbye I can't see myself handling very well." He admitted.

He didn't quite know what was going on, but Tony nodded and let Alex go. But not before Louie had a chance to say something. "Hey Reiger, where are **you **going?"

Alex groaned, "Look, I just need some air okay? I'll see you in a little while." Despite his sadness about Elaine leaving, he decided that the worse thing he could do would to let it interfere with his life; even though it wasn't much of one. Maybe with Elaine gone it would give him a chance to make some changes in his life. Not that Elaine was the only thing in his life, but maybe her leaving was a sign that people are going to move on because they are doing something productive with their lives. Pretty much every day he did the same thing. Got up, drove a cab, came home, watched some television, and then slept, unless of course he was working a night shift. Well, maybe his life wasn't as black and white as that. He did other things like going to see games or shows as well. Louie continued to chase after him, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. What are we supposed to tell Nardo?"

Alex shrugged, "I don't know… just don't tell her anything."

Louie huffed, "We can't not tell her anything. She's going to notice."

"Look Louie, if she- **if she** brings it up then just tell her that I'm very sorry and that I will miss her very much and that I'll call her." He then quickly scurried out the door before anything else could be said.

Meanwhile in the back room, Elaine was attempting her first goodbye of the night. It took her a minute to get started. This **definitely **wasn't easy. Finally, she began, "Jim… you are one of the sweetest people I have ever met. You have the biggest heart out of everyone I know. I'll never forget the time when some guy dumped me and to cheer me up you sent me anonymous romantic poems in the mail. I was so touched by it. I just wish I had known it was you from the start instead of falling for that jerk Don who claimed the poems as his. When I found out that it was you I became the jerk and got mad at you. Then later that night I came home to such a wonderful surprise. You had built a castle in my living room from the parts from your van; because of the first poem…" She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket.

"W-what's that?" Jim questioned. Elaine smiled, "It's that first poem you wrote for me."

Jim's eyes widened, "You kept that all this time?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I did."

"Why did you keep it?"

"Because it really is beautiful. And aside from my being an idiot, it's a real nice memory. I haven't read it in such a long time so I figured I could read it now. Is that okay with you?" Jim nodded and Elaine cleared her throat and read the poem aloud:

"I saw you standing in a Manhattan sunset, your auburn hair blowing from Atlantic winds. Your eyes were smiling at thoughts far away… dancing to sonnets only you could hear. If I could, I would build you a castle, in a world of some other time. A castle I could only imagine. A castle only you could inspire."

After reading and pausing a moment, she began to cry. "It's absolutely beautiful, Jim. It's become such a sweet memory and I'll never ever forget it. I'll never forget you either." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

"Hey… don't cry." He tried to comfort.

She pulled back, "I can't help it. I don't think- no. I know that I'll never find a friend that compares to you."

"Well if you do… would you let me know?" he kidded.

Elaine laughed through her tears, "Of course." She quickly hugged him again before she wiped her tears and then they both left the room. Jim sat back down and Elaine signaled for Tony to come next. Tony immediately stood up and followed her. When they entered the room Tony hopped up on the pool table while Elaine leaned against it. She picked up a cue and fiddled with it. She couldn't find the right words to begin. "Tony… this is incredibly hard for me. I'm sorry, I'm just trying to find the right words and they aren't coming out. But I do need to find them because I know I can't leave without saying goodbye to you."

Tony looked at her sympathetically, "I understand." He hopped down from the pool table and grabbed a cue as well. "Hey, why don't we shoot one last game? Maybe then the words you're looking for will come to you." He suggested.

Elaine smiled, thought the sadness never left her eyes, "Sounds like a plan." They began one of what turned into many rounds of 8 Ball. On about the fifth game, while Tony was making his move, Elaine said, "I'm sure going to miss playing games like this with you, Tony."

Tony finished his shot and looked at Elaine, "Yeah, me too. You're the only challenging one to play around here." He snickered.

She smiled and chuckled half-heartedly then looked at him seriously and sorrowfully, "Do you think you could sometime visit me in Chicago and we can play cards, or go find a pool hall? And I could come and visit New York and we could- well play cards, shoot some pool here?"

"Absolutely!" he answered without a second thought, "I'd come visit ya if you just wanted a New York pizza. I mean, I hear Chicago has got some great pizza but I'm sure after a few of those you'll want one from here."

"You'd bring me a pizza all the way from New York to Chicago?" she couldn't help but laugh, "Wouldn't it get cold?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, "then I'll just have to leave in the middle of the night and when I got there you could have the cold pizza for breakfast."

Elaine laughed, but then her laugh turned into a cry, "Oh Tony… I'm going to miss you so, so much. I can't stand the thought of not having you around." She dropped her pool cue and hugged him. He hugged back, "I'm going to miss you too, Elaine. First John leaves, then Bobby, and now you. I know that we all have goals and dreams in our lives, but somehow I always thought that we'd all be at the garage forever."

Elaine pulled away and nodded, "I kind of thought so too. I guess it's inevitable."

"Well, you're definitely inspiring me to get on with my life. I wonder when my big opportunity will knock." He wondered.

"It will come; and it will come when you least expect it. I know that's pretty cliché but take it from someone who knows." She tried to force a smile but she wasn't successful. Tony hugged her again until she was able to somewhat compose herself. Once she did she wiped the tears that had fallen and said, "Could you tell Louie to come in next? I need an easier goodbye." Tony nodded and slowly left the room. When he walked into the main room Louie snapped, "What the hell were you two doing in there?! I would'a thought you left if there was a door back there. Were you banging her goodbye or something?"

Tony glared at Louie. "It's none of your business Lou," he whined, "now lay off me that was hard saying goodbye to another friend."

"Ah, so you were rolling around back there." He smirked knowing that nothing like that had happened. He could just tell by Tony's face. He could always tell when anyone had scored with Elaine. Call it a gift. Tony threateningly raised his fist in the air as Louie escaped into the back room. He walked in to see Elaine still crying over her goodbye to Tony. "Oh Louie, hi…" she wiped her tears away as best she could.

He quietly repeated, "Hi."

Once again, Elaine managed to compose herself. At least this goodbye wouldn't be soheartbreakingly hard. She wasn't quite sure what to say. I mean, this **was **Louie; the man who constantly would make cheap passes at her and treated the cabbies like dirt. But then again, he did seem like he had grown over the years; especially now that he had been seeing this woman named Judy. She had really softened him up. Well, so she thought until he said, "Look Nardo, I can imagine that this must be real hard for you so I'll make it easier. I know that you have spent some tortured nights thinking about me and you wanna spend your last night with me in a wild, lusty affair. I'm all for it. Shall we go to a motel or do you wanna go here?" she said **half-**jokingly.

Elaine smiled a sarcastic smile and rolled her eyes. "Louie…"

"I know I know… I guess I'm just not good when it comes to a serious moment."

"I've noticed." She laughed.

Louie questioned, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that every time you and I have had a remotely serious talk you've always needed to add some sort of joke or something."

"Oh really? Name **one **time." He interrogated, trying to prove her wrong.

"Alright- that time when you told me about how you felt when you have to go clothes shopping. You said it very seriously and form your heart. When I hugged you, you grabbed my ass. Or how about the time I had to go on a date with you just to settle the strike. At the end of it I wasn't stopping you when you said how hurt you were hurt and began to leave. When I finally did tell you that the evening wasn't a total drag and then you said what would make the date complete would be a goodnight kiss. You insisted that it could be just a peck on the cheek. You closed your eyes, put your hands at your sides and promised not to move. I started to sneak into my apartment but felt guilty so I forced myself to give you just a peck. When I did you grabbed me and pulled us down both down to the floor and I had a big struggle trying to break free and get up and go safely into my apartment." She glared jokingly (kind of jokingly anyway).

Louie laughed, "Yeah, I remember that night **very** well. I also remember the next day when Wheeler and Banta had to restrain you so you wouldn't kill me."

She laughed, "Well, I wouldn't have actually killed you. I just would have slapped you really hard and gauged your eyes out."

They both continued to laugh but it soon died down. "I guess you aren't a total creep. I guess we have a few good memories... I'll miss you, Louie."

"I'll miss you too, Nardo." Elaine then hugged Louie, and Louie resisted any jokes.

Elaine murmured, "Can you tell Latka and Simka to come in?"

Louie nodded as he pulled away from Elaine, "Sure." He then left the room without another look at her. He reentered restaurant, "Latka, Simka, you're next."

They gloomily stood up and headed towards the back room. When Simka looked at Elaine she cried instantly and ran to hug her. "Oh Elaine, I'm going to miss you so, so, so, so, so much I can't stand it! Will you still talk with me on the phone and will you still come visit us and the baby?"

Elaine cried, "Yes, yes, yes of course we can and of course I will! And we can write each other and at some point you can come and visit."

Latka began to tear up as well and joined Simka and Elaine's hug, "Oh Elaine, we will miss your company at our dinner parties."

"Oh yeah," Elaine suddenly remembered, "I'm going to miss going to those. Nobody one knows how to throw a party like you guys." Everyone figured that if Latka and Simka ever became famous, it would be for their dinner parties. They threw them always weekly. They never ceased to be interesting. The food from their home country definitely consisted of things that you wouldn't normally find in America. And sometimes for special occasions they had certain traditions. One time, Elaine wasn't there, but Alex, Tony, Jim, and Louie told her about it. It lasted maybe ten minutes. All they did was sit and look at the door. Once everyone had arrived the party ended. To this day Elaine didn't know what the purpose of that party was. But she knew that it was something big because one, it was the same day Simka had come to the garage looking to talk to Elaine and was asking odd questions. Two, whenever she brought it up, Jim and Alex just shrugged and would replied, "Who knows?" but they weren't the best liars. Oh how she would miss those parties. The tears continued to fall as she continued her goodbye, "Latka, you've always known how make me smile; even when I was at my lowest. I'm going miss hearing all of the interesting stories from your homeland and I'm going to miss how you become the life of the party no matter where you are… And Simka, I'm really going to miss our friendship. For a while I was the only woman around and as much as I love the guys, it was so nice having you around." she sobbed, "You gotta promise me you'll watch over these guys and keep them from doing anything too stupid."

Simka couldn't help but laugh, "I will, Elaine. I promise."

Elaine smiled, "Good! And also you have to promise me that when they do something stupid- and trust me, no matter how carefully you watch them, they will- that you'll tell me right away."

Once again Simka laughed, "Of course." She was quiet for a minute before finishing, "Will you promise to call when you safely get to Chicago?

Elaine nodded, "Definitely. And then she had one more thing to add, "And Latka, make sure you let me know the minute she goes into labor because I will drop everything and hop on a plane."

Latka muttered, "I promise, I will."

"Thank you." Again, Elaine hugged each of them and said goodbye. "I guess all that's left is Alex's goodbye…" She had put him off for last because she knew that he was going to be the hardest. "Can you send him in?" she asked weakly. Latka scurried out of the room leaving Simka to tell Elaine at which Simka glared in his direction then turned and said to Elaine, "Uh… I don't think I can do that."

"What?" she said baffled, "Why not?"

"Well, uh… how do I put this? Um…. He kinda… sorta… you know, left." She finally admitted.

"He left?" Elaine gasped, "Why did he leave?"

Simka shrugged, "I'm not quite sure. I didn't hear what he was saying. Tony and then Louie tried to stop him but he still left."

Elaine frowned, "Do you know where he went?"

Simka shook her head sadly, "No… I didn't catch that either. I think Louie knows though."

"Alright," she sighed, "I'll go ask him." Without another word, the two of them left the room. When they got back into the restaurant they saw that Tony and Jim had gone and Louie was just leaving. Elaine ran after him, "Louie, Louie! Wait a minute." She called out. Louie swiftly turned around, "Yeah, what is it?" he asked curiously.

"Simka said that Alex left. Do you know where he went?" she asked with much concern in her voice.

He answered as best as he could, "He said that he'd see me at the garage later. I'm just heading there now."

"Could you wait here while I go see if he's there? I need to say goodbye to him. Did he say why he left?"

Louie took a moment before answering. He wasn't sure if Alex would want her to know. _Hmm…_ he thought, _I wonder if something is going on between these two. I guess that's all the more reason to tell her. _"He said that saying goodbye to you would be too hard for him to handle. At least that's what I think he said. He told Tony and I just overheard."

She teared up, "Really?" Louie nodded and Elaine continued, "but I can't leave without saying goodbye to him…" she said in almost a whisper.

"Then that was a smart thing to say on his part." He stated.

"Louie, don't making this harder than it needs to be." She said, frustrated.

"Sorry…"

She took a deep breath, "Alright, you stay here. I'm going to go talk to him."

"Okay." he nodded and went back into Mario's as Elaine headed down and across the street to the garage desperately hoping that Alex would be there.


	12. Goodbye, Alex

**Chapter 12**

Elaine walked into the garage with her fingers crossed. At first sight it was empty. _Damn_, she thought. But then she saw Alex come from the coffee machine (which was in the corner by Louie's cage) and she sighed in relief. Alex hadn't noticed her and sat down at the table and picked up a book that he appeared to be reading. Quietly, Elaine walked up to him, "Guess who I'm going to the miss most?" She smiled trying to fight the tears once again. She was surprised she had any left. Alex jumped slightly, thinking that he had been alone. Sadly he said, "Oh… hi, Elaine." She then sat down with him, "I hope you didn't think that you could avoid saying goodbye to me that easily." Alex laughed a bit uncomfortably. They were both silent for a moment, then Alex interrogated, "So, I guess Louie mentioned were I was?" Elaine nodded and then added, "Yep, and he also told me why you left."

"He did?" he asked, confused. "I thought I told Tony?"

She shrugged, "He said he overheard."

"Oh…" he said. Elaine could tell that he was embarrassed. Gently, she took his hand. "I'm sorry… I know that this isn't easy. **Believe me**, I know. I just couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you. You are my best friend. You've helped me through so much, including this. I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do without you." She began to cry harder than she had all night. "Promise me you'll write. Please. I don't want this to be one of those things where we just say we'll keep in touch but then never do. I can't imagine cutting you out like that. You've meant- you mean way too much to me."

Alex quickly pulled her chair closer to him and hugged her. "I promise. I don't want to cut you out of my life either. You mean so much to me as well and it's killing me to see you go." He didn't intend on saying that last part; it just sort of fell out of him. He bit his lip trying to stop himself from crying.

"I'll be honest with you… I'm pretty scared about moving. I'm leaving everything that's familiar behind and this wave of loneliness keeps running through me."

"Don't be scared, Elaine." He comforted, "It may be a little bit scary at first but you won't be all alone… you'll have Arnie." He couldn't understand why he always had to bring up or remind her of Arnie.

"Yeah, that's true." She sighed. "But is it selfish of me to wish that his job could have been here? I feel like I haven't shown him enough joy towards it. I feel like I've made this whole thing about me. Do I want to move, do I not want to. What am I going to do there, is it worth it to **me**; me, me, me. Oh gosh, I have been selfish! Oh what must Arnie think of me?" she sobbed. "He's been so good to me through this whole thing and have I thanked him once? No!"

Alex held her tighter in hopes of calming her, "Oh Elaine, I don't think you've been selfish. And if you really feel that you have been then I think you should sit down with Arnie and tell him what you just told me. And that you're truly happy and excited for him. He's a wonderful guy and he'll understand." He pulled away just enough to look at her with a smile and wiped her tears away. Meanwhile, he was thinking, _I am such an idiot! This could have been my very last chance to tell her how I feel and what did I do? I build that Arnie up even more. Oh who am I kidding? I couldn't do that to her. Despite her appearance now I know that she's happy. I can't come along and make everything more difficult. I guess it just wasn't meant to be…_

Elaine smiled back, "Thanks Alex… boy, I'm really going to miss you." She cried again and hugged Alex tightly. Alex hugged back, "I'm really going to miss you too." Once again he bit his lip to stop from crying but there was one tear that he couldn't save from falling. Elaine could feel him slightly shake and heard his breathing get heavier which caused her to cry harder. At this point there was no use in stopping it. Alex eventually ended up thinking the same way. So there they sat, crying in each other's arms. Though their reasons for crying- for the most part- were different, they both knew that they were going to miss each other terribly. Eventually, the both of them calmed down. They both sat up and wiped away their tears. Elaine laughed slightly, "Look at us… acting as if the other were dying."

Alex reciprocated the laugh, "Yeah… I mean, we'll see each other again… right?"

She nodded, "Definitely."

"Good. Because I definitely don't want this to be the last time that I will ever see you."

"Neither do I." She agreed. They stood up and hugged each other one last time. "Goodbye Alex."

"Bye Elaine." He leaned against a cab while he watched her leave. Once she was gone her crossed his arms and sighed. He started to imagine what it would be like not having her around. It wasn't a pleasant thought. Suddenly he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Elaine rushing back in. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Not so much romantically, but definitely more than just a peck. Alex instantly wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed back. After about a few seconds they pulled apart but still had their arms wrapped around each other. Then Elaine said in a semi-hushed tone, "For old time's sake." She looked him in the eye implying their past. Alex knowingly smiled. And then, without another word said between them, Elaine slowly walked out of the garage. Before leaving completely she looked back at Alex and waved. He waved back and then she was gone. He leisurely walked back to the table and sat back down, and then suddenly he burst into tears. Their kiss just reminded him of the opportunities to tell her the truth he had chickened out on. Now she was gone and there was no turning back time.


	13. Desperately Seeking Closure

**Chapter 13**

The next morning Elaine, Jennifer, and Jason were up extra early packing up the truck that would be taking their belongings to their new home in Chicago. Elaine was very proud of how helpful the kids were being. They didn't whine or complain about all the work they had been doing. So as a reward, Elaine promised them that if they got everything done in time, she'd take them to their favorite diner in New York one last time before they left. This made the kids extremely happy seeing as they only really went there on their birthdays. This diner wasn't the typical eggs and toast type place. They would make faces out of the pancakes or the eggs and bacon. Even if you didn't order those particular things it would still be presented in a fun way. As for the looks of the place, the tiles on the floor were jellybeans with a clear glass glaze over them. Each tile was a different color. There was a wall dedicated to different drawings that kids who came in drew. At one point in time, each Jennifer and Jason had had a drawing up on that wall. To top the visit off you get a balloon and a silly hat. Definitely a great treat for kids. Aside for the fun (and tasty) food, the wall of drawings, the balloons, silly hats, and the jellybean tiles, perhaps Jason and Jennifer's favorite thing about the diner was the jukebox. Whenever they went Elaine would give them each a nickel to play the song of their choice. They would dance to them right there in the middle of the restaurant! It was always a lot of fun. So once the kids found out that they had a chance to go there they set their alarm to five a.m.; much to Elaine's surprise. Once they were up, they ran into Elaine's room and jumped on her bed until she got up. They swiftly got everything ready to place in the truck when it got there at eight, and then took one last look at their New York apartment. Once the truck came (along with Arnie) they loaded it up in record timing and went on their way. When they were on their way to the diner Elaine suddenly remembered, "Oh no, I forgot a bag in my locker at the garage! Arnie, could we please stop there so I can get it?"

"Absolutely!" he chirped.

Meanwhile, at the garage, Alex had just gotten back from his shift. He turned in his bookings and sat down on the bench. He sighed; he was still feeling down about the whole thing with Elaine. He couldn't figure out why he couldn't just get over her. True, things like that take time and she probably hasn't even left New York yet, but even before she was with Arnie he couldn't get over her. Suddenly it occurred to him, _No wonder I have such rotten luck with women. Either I blow it by subconsciously doing something stupid or they can sense my feelings for Elaine. Maybe I need some sort of closure. Not necessarily with Elaine I guess, but with these… feelings. What could I do? I guess keeping them inside all of this time may be part of the problem. But who do I tell? I wouldn't want to tell anyone who knows Elaine because then I'd be living in constant fear of someone telling her. I mean, that's not as big of a problem now as it would have been had she not moved, but if we are going to keep in touch I'd always be wondering if she knew._ He groaned, _I have to tell __**someone**__... maybe I could tell Jim. He'd probably forget whatever I say in minutes. No, even that's too risky. What if some point he all of a sudden remembered and blurted it out? That's been known to happen. I guess there's only one person I should tell… and that's Elaine... No, no. I can't. She's on her way to Chicago to start a new life with Arnie. Well, in a way. I just need to get that factor through my mind once and for all. Besides, at this point I don't even think I could manage to tell her in person. Hey that's it; I'll write her a letter! Then I can mail it to her and- no, no, no! I will not screw up this for her. She made this very hard decision and I refuse to get in the way of that. Dammit, why can't I just get that woman out of my head! She's just one woman out of millions. Why do I have to only think about her? What if I can never get her out of my mind? I'll die alone and my headstone will read, 'Alex Reiger: Hooked on a woman he knew he would never have.' _He angrily stood up and began pacing back and forth. Once most of the anger had subsided he thought again, _Maybe a letter isn't an entirely bad idea… I'll write out everything that I've ever wanted to say to her, but then I won't send it and I'll throw it away. That way I can get it out and maybe there will be some hope of me eventually getting on with my life and getting over her._ By now Louie had gone home and had left Alex to wait for the next dispatcher to come in, though without telling Alex. Or maybe he did mention it… Alex was too lost in his thoughts to notice anything else. He went into the cage and grabbed some paper and a pen which he then brought down to the table. He sat down and commenced writing the letter that would, with any luck, help him close this chapter of his life and begin anew.


	14. One Last Look

**Chapter 14**

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of writing, Alex finished his letter. He read through to make sure he hadn't left anything out. Not like it mattered all that much, no one was going to be reading it. But he wanted to make sure it was all out once and for all. Everything looked good. He began to fold it up neatly to put in his pocket. Then it occurred to him, _what am I saving this for? I'll just end up stumbling across at some point in the future and it will put me right back where I am today. I need to just get rid of it. _Without a second thought he crumbled it up. He did so with anger; he had let the best thing in his life slip away without a fight. Maybe some sleep would do him well. He stood up and started to walk out of the garage. When he got closer to the door he decided that disposing the letter here would be best. That way he wouldn't be tempted to keep it. He tossed the crumpled up paper into the basket and left. What he didn't notice was that he had missed and the paper bounced off of the side of the can and on to the floor. Oh well, it couldn't be a big deal. Someone would probably just pick it up and put it in the trash. That is, if they even noticed it.

Almost instantly after Alex had left, Elaine walked in to the garage, but coming through the back entrance hoping no one would notice her. Last night was hard enough; she didn't want to have to go through that again. To her relief no one was around. Quickly she ran up to her locker and grabbed the bag she had forgotten. While she was at it she took another look to make sure nothing else would be left behind. She closed the locker and started to hurry back out to Arnie and her kids. About halfway down the stairs she stopped, "This is the last time I'll come down these stairs." She said to herself. She looked around taking the atmosphere in for one last time. She slowly began climbing down the stairs again. When she got to the ground something caught her eye; the crumpled paper. Normally she would have ignored it, but she could see some of the words and she could have sworn she saw her name written on this mysterious piece of paper. Curiously, she picked it up and slowly unwrinkled it. She began to read:

_Dear Elaine,_

_There has been something-_

Just then Arnie walked in, "You coming? If we don't leave soon we won't have time to go get breakfast."

She jumped slightly from being startled, "Oh, sorry. I'm coming. I was just… taking one last look around." She smiled, she didn't want Arnie to know how sad she was feeling. Lord knows that if he did he'd go into a panic.

He smiled back, "Alrighty then, off we go!" he cheered. Elaine laughed. Then Arnie noticed that paper Elaine was holding, "What's that ya got there?" he asked inquisitively.

"Oh, this? I'm not sure, I just, uh… found it in my locker." She wasn't quite sure why she said she found it in her locker. Maybe it's for the better though, 'I found it in my locker' seems more casual than, 'I found it on the floor and it just so happens to be a letter to me.' Until she read it and knew what it was about and why it was crumbled up and meant to be thrown away, it's better to keep the questions to a minimum. She continued, "It's probably something from a while ago that got lost in there. I'll look at it once we get settled. I'm sure it's nothing. Come on, let's go!" she stuffed the letter into her bag, smiled once again and put her arm around Arnie and they cheerfully walked out of the garage. _For the last time…_ she couldn't help but think. Anyone could walk by and look at Elaine and assume she was one of the happiest people in the world. But in reality, despite how she appeared, she was afraid that her feelings about leaving New York would be sticking around for a while. Though, she was determined to get over them and start off on a positive note. _Give it a few weeks, _she thought, _things may seem a bit hopeless right now but I'm sure in a matter of time you won't need to be faking a smile. You made the right choice. Besides, you're with Arnie and that's all that matters._


	15. As The Train Goes Along

**Chapter 15**

After having enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, they set off to the train station. Jennifer and Jason were particularly excited because they had never been on a train. Sure, they had ridden the subway countless times. Arnie had told them that a train ride was much more enjoyable. You wouldn't be forced to stand, it didn't go as fast as the subway did, and no sharp turns. So this would be a chance for adventure. And adventure is something that Jennifer and Jason loved. They particularly liked the train station. All the sights, sounds, and smells from all of the different foods. They were the kind of kids who could just be taking a walk around the block and could make it an adventure. When the train came Elaine had to hold them back so they wouldn't run up to the train while it was still moving. Arnie kept laughing because he couldn't recall ever seeing them **this **hyper before. Elaine apologized, "I'm so sorry Arnie. They aren't usually this wired. I think it's just from all the excitement and sugar at breakfast."

Arnie chuckled, "Don't worry about it sweetheart, I'm getting a kick out of it!"

"Good, because they're going to be like this for a while!" she laughed. When the train came to a stop they were the first to board. "Sit anywhere ya like kids." Arnie said. They chose seats near the beginning of the train. They were four seats facing each other. They were also window seats. For the first few hours or so, Jason and Jennifer were able to amuse their selves; after that they started to get restless. "Mommy," Jason began to ask, "how much longer until we get there?"

"We still have quite a ways to go." Elaine answered.

"How much longer?" Jennifer added.

"Quite a few hours." She replied.

Jennifer and Jason both sighed. Then Jennifer spoke up again, "Why didn't we fly? Wouldn't that have been much faster?"

Elaine took a minute before answering. "This is much more fun than flying, don't you think? You can look around outside, it's more relaxed." Thankfully, Arnie was asleep. The real reason they were taking the train was because Arnie had a terrible fear of flying. Knowing what a nervous wreck he generally was, she didn't bother trying to convince him to fly. Besides, that would have made for a very long flight.

They shrugged and said, "I guess…"

"Why don't you two shut your eyes for a little while?" Elaine suggested.

"Okay." Jennifer said as she closed her eyes and leaned on the window. Jason on the other hand whined, "But I'm not sleepy."

"Then why don't you color or read a book?"

"I don't feel like it." He whined again.

Elaine chuckled, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm not tired either and I've tried reading this book but I just don't want too." She paused and thought for a moment. "Hey, I know what we can do. Why don't we walk around a little bit?"

"We're allowed to walk on the train?" Jason asked with a shocked tone.

"Yeah!" she answered cheerfully. "We can see if the dining car is open yet. We'll eat dinner there in a little bit but we could get a little snack for now."

Jason smiled, "Awesome! Jennifer, do you want to come?" he nudged her slightly. She had already fallen asleep though.

Elaine laughed, "I'm going to take that as a no." She stood up and took Jason's hand. "Now be careful, it's going to be a bumpy walk." There wasn't too much to see. The cars were pretty much the same, though one of them had a second level of seats. The ceiling was one big window so you could see the sky. "Can we come back here when it's dark so we can see the stars?" Jason eagerly asked. Elaine answered, "Sure, I don't see why not. I'm not sure if we'll be able to see them though, especially if they have the lights on up here. But yes, we can definitely try." Eventually they made their way to the dining car. Only the snack bar was open which worked for them. The grabbed a snack and headed back to their seats. When they got back Arnie was awake. "There you two are!"

"Hey, sorry about that. I guess we should have left you a note or something." She said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled. "Where did ya go?"

Jason told the story of their little tour with much enthusiasm. As he was speaking, Elaine could feel some of the sorrow she was still feeling start to go away. She was feeling quite relived. Maybe she wouldn't be stuck with the sadness for as long as she thought. Maybe all she needed was to keep herself busy and keep her mind off of New York. If things were looking up now then once she got to Chicago everything would be okay. She'd really be free to start a new life. Nevertheless, she'd still keep in touch with her friends in New York because she still couldn't imagine not. It's always good to have a reminder of home. And no matter how far she may be, she was determined to keep her friendships with everybody back in New York City strong. It couldn't be that hard right?


	16. A Mistake?

**Chapter 16**

Finally they reached Chicago. It was a long trip but now they could finally start settling down. Since Arnie had to wait a few days for his car to arrive (his friend who was also transferring was taking it) they took a cab to their new apartment. It reminded Elaine of her friends in New York. She had to keep reminding herself, _Chicago is a city too. There are going to be cabs and you are going to be riding in them. Do not do this. You can get through this and over this. Remember? Things are looking great so far. Focus on that. _Their new apartment was lovely. Jennifer and Jason we especially happy; each of them got their own rooms. There was a small balcony connecting to Arnie and Elaine's room that had a marvelous view of the city. All in all, a great place. Their furniture had arrived just around the time they did and for that they were thankful. They spent the day unpacking and setting up the apartment. By the time they were finished they were all exhausted. They ordered a pizza and decided to watch a movie on TV together. By the end of the movie Jennifer and Jason had fallen fast asleep. Elaine whispered to Arnie, "I'm going to go put them to bed." Arnie nodded while Elaine gently tried to wake the two up to take them to their rooms. Jason woke up but Jennifer remained fast asleep. She picked up Jennifer and took Jason's hand and led him to his room. "I'll be back in in a minute, just let me go put your sister down." Jason tiredly nodded and walked into his room. Elaine set Jennifer down in her bed, tucked her in, and kissed her forehead. She watched her sleep for a moment and began thinking, _I wonder what she's dreaming about… she was so excited coming here; both her and Jason. _She sighed; _I wish I could be as carefree as they. I wish I could just let myself be excited like them. Instead I bounce back and forth from sad and happy. I mean look at them, they are leaving their friends, their home, and even their father behind and not once have they shown a hint of sorrow. How do they do that? I should try to think like them, stay focused on the new adventure in front of me and not look back- oh no! I promised Simka that I'd call when I got here! _Quickly she left Jennifer's room and went back into Jason's; this was going to take some getting used to as well. When she went to tuck him in she saw that he had already fallen back to sleep. She kissed him goodnight and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She walked over to Arnie, "Sweetie, I promised Simka that I'd call her to let them know I got here safely, do you mind if I do that quickly?"

"Sure, go ahead! But after that you're all mine!" he said with a sly grin.

She grinned as well and said, "Absolutely!" she quickly kissed him and made her way to the bedroom to make her call. She sat down on the bed and picked up the phone and dialed Simka's number. As it was ringing it occurred to her that maybe she was calling too late. She received an answer though. "Hello?" Latka answered.

"Latka, hi! It's me… Elaine." It was so nice to hear a familiar voice- _Wait a minute… I've been gone two days… Have I even heard an unfamiliar voice? _She rolled her eyes at her silliness and continued, "I'm just calling to let you know that I made it here safely and we're getting settled."

"Oh goody, it's you Elaine! Honey, it's Elaine on the phone." He said to Simka away from the phone. Simka grabbed the phone from Latka, "Elaine! I was starting to get worried!"

"I'm sorry! When we got here we were so busy unpacking." She said remorsefully.

"It's alright, I understand. So how do you like Chicago so far?"

Elaine shrugged, "It's nice I guess. The apartment is spectacular! Other than that I haven't had a chance to really take it all in. I'll have some time tomorrow though. The kids start their first day at their new school and I'm going to go look for a job."

"Ooo, that sounds like fun. Are you gonna look for one at an art gallery?"

"I'm hoping. Keep your fingers crossed that I can find one."

"I will." Simka crossed her fingers even though Elaine couldn't see her.

Elaine sighed, "Well I'll talk to you later, I'm pretty tired."

"Alright, goodnight, and good luck tomorrow. Oh, oh, and when you can send me some pictures of the apartment I wanna see it!" She said very enthusiastically.

Elaine couldn't help but laugh at Simka's enthusiasm. "I will, definitely. Goodnight, I miss you already."

In an instant Simka's cheerfulness was gone. "I miss you already too, Elaine…"

"Bye- oh, would you mind letting the guys know that I'm here?"

"Of course. Bye." Simka hung up the phone and looked at Latka with a frown. "Why did she have to leave, Latka?"

Latka frowned as well, "I don't know."

Simka went on, "What do you think the chances are that she and Arnie will break up and her coming back to New York where she belongs?"

"Simka, what are you saying?" he said, stunned.

Simka tipped her head down in shame. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't say such things. I am being selfish and I am being a horrible friend to Elaine."

"No, no," Latka quickly corrected, "not that. What about your gift? Your gift to match people with their soul mate."

She looked up and sighed, "You're right… but I'm starting to get this strange feeling that I may have made a mistake."

Latka took her hands, "I'm sure you didn't. You just miss Elaine right now, that's all."

Simka sorrowfully shook her head, "My darling… I'm afraid I haven't been honest with you." Latka looked at her, puzzled and Simka took a deep breath, "I really think I made a mistake. I'm not just making this up because I want Elaine to come home. I've had this feeling ever since Arnie and Elaine started getting more and more serious. One night we were talking and Elaine was telling me a story about Arnie and I picked up on something that I don't think I can even begin to explain. But all I can say is that this feeling came over me that Arnie is not the one she is destined to be with. Latka… I've made a horrible mistake. I wanted to say it sooner but I didn't wanna ruin me and Elaine's friendship. So I kept it to myself, hoping that Arnie and Elaine would break up. Besides, she would not believe in my gift."

"Oh Simka, of course she would."

"No." she insisted.

"Well, why didn't you tell her when she asked you what you thought about whether or not she should move or not." He questioned.

"I started too…" she admitted. "I said that she should dump him and stay here."

"Then what did she say?"

"She laughed from nervousness and got a funny look in her eye. I think I should have been less obvious about it. When I said it, it kinda exploded outta me. So then I covered it up by saying that I just didn't want her to go. Latka, I am really afraid that I have ruined Elaine's life." She began to tear up.

Latka put his arm around Simka and pulled her close to him. "Don't worry, Simka. I'm sure that everything will be fine between her and Arnie. Maybe it's the baby that's making you think you've made a mistake."

"No Latka," she snapped, "this was before the baby. I'm telling you, Elaine is meant to be with someone else. I just wish I knew who so I could tell her before it is too late."

* * *

Elaine hung up the phone. She started to go out into the living room to tell Arnie she was off the phone and that he could come in, but the balcony caught her eye. She opened the balcony's door and walked out. She took a deep breath. The view of the city was amazing. _This isn't such a bad place. _She thought. She could see a few more stars than she could back in New York. There was so much to take in. It was kind of nice out there. She hadn't realized how lost in her thoughts she had become, Arnie had joined her and she nearly jumped a foot in the air. "I'm sorry," he laughed, "I didn't mean to scare ya."

She laughed, "It's alright. Sorry, I just meant to take a peek out here. I don't know what happened."

"Don't worry about it. Nice view, huh?" he said pointing in front of him.

"It really is." She smiled. After a moment she started to say, "Arnie… can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course, what's on your mind?"

"I feel like I should have been more excited about you getting the job. Instead I made it about me and that the focus was turned to me and whether or not **I **wanted to move and how it would affect **me**. I shouldn't have done that and I feel just terrible about it. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I am so happy about your new job and I'm so excited for you." She kissed him.

After a moment Arnie pulled back, "Sweetie is that what's been bothering you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"Come on Elaine, it may take me awhile but after a while I can pick up on the fact that there's something that has been eating at ya. I wanted to ask but I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about it. So I decided to wait to see if you brought it up. And now that you have."

Elaine laughed, "Oh Arnie, you can be so silly sometimes! In the future, if you think something is bothering me and you want to know what it is just come right out and tell me."

"And when something is bothering you just tell me right off the bat. Remember I'm sort of new to all this." He winked.

She nodded, "I will." _Depending on what it is… _she couldn't help but add in her mind.

"And just so you know, I don't think you were being selfish at all. I've been feeling bad because **I **was being selfish for making you move. And for taking the job without talking to you first. You're the most important thing in my life and it was unfair to make you chose."

"Don't think for a moment that you were selfish. I would have been disappointed if you hadn't taken it. I wouldn't have wanted to get in the way of that."

"Oh come on Elaine, you can think my job is more important than you. Heck if you had said that you weren't going to move I would have immediately picked up the phone and said I couldn't take it." He smiled.

Elaine was touched, "Oh my goodness, that's so sweet…" she touched his face lovingly, "I love you so much." She paused and then said,  
Come on, let's go back inside." She said in a hint.

"I love you too…" he said sincerely and then raised his eyebrows,  
"and certainly." He took Elaine's hand and led her back inside.


	17. A Sure Sign

**Chapter 17**

The next day Elaine set out to find a job. She walked the streets of Chicago looking for some of the different art galleries she had looked up. When she finally stumbled upon one she was thrilled. She happily walked in and browsed a bit. Someone eventually came up to her and asked if she needed and help. Elaine answered, "Actually yes. I just moved here from New York City. I used to work in a gallery there and I was hoping to find a position at one of the ones here. If there aren't any openings at this particular gallery, would you happen to know if there were any at the others?"

The woman perked up, "You're from New York? I used to live there myself! What gallery did you work for?" she asked very curiously.

"The Hazeltine." Elaine smiled.

The woman gasped, "You're kidding, I was working there when it first opened!"

Elaine grew excited, "Oh my gosh, what a coincidence! If you don't mind my asking… what brought you to Chicago?"

"My husband was transferred here from his job in New York."

"Wow this is uncanny, a similar thing brought me here as well."

"Oh?" the woman asked curious, hinting for her to go on.

"Yeah, you see, my boyfriend was offered a promotion at his work- a Vice President position- and he asked me if I'd move with him. I admit, it was very tough choice, you know because I'd be leaving my friends, my jobs, the city I dreamed all my life about- but my love for him triumphed over all. We actually just arrived yesterday."

"Oh wow, so you're still getting settled in."

Elaine nodded, "Yep."

"I hope I'm not prying…" the woman began apprehensively, "but you said jobs. What else did you do?"

"Oh, I was a part time cab driver."

The woman looked stunned, "You worked in a gallery **and **drove a cab?"

"That's right. See, I'm a divorced mother of two small children- well, I guess they aren't so small anymore… but anyways, I needed the money from driving because I wasn't making enough at the gallery."

"I'm sorry." The woman said sympathetically, imaging the work it must have been, "What was your position?"

"I was a receptionist. Though, from time to time they would put me in charge of an exhibit or other events." She smiled and then shrugged, "And the driving wasn't all bad. I met my closest friends there."

The woman then smiled, "That's nice."

Elaine suddenly realized, "Oh my, I'm sorry! Here I am spilling my guts and you don't even know my name. I'm Elaine Nardo." She reached out her hand.

The woman took Elaine's hand and shook it, "Nice to know you Elaine, I'm Golda Smuckler. I'm the Chief Curator."

"It's very nice to meet you, Golda."

"So, you were saying that you needed a job?" Golda winked.

Elaine's eyes grew wide, "Yes?"

"Well I think there's something around here for you that you can do." She grinned.

Elaine gasped with delight, "Oh my gosh you really mean it?" Golda nodded then Elaine continued, "Thank you, thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me. I'll do whatever you want."

"You're actually in luck, next week our current receptionist is taking maternity leave so that position will be open for a while. Then we can see how it goes and then I'm sure we can find something else for you to do. Sound good to you?"

It took everything Elaine had in her not to jump and squeal, "Oh yes that sounds marvelous! I can't thank you enough. So is there a form I should fill out?"

"Oh yes, come with me and I'll get you one." Golda took Elaine to the front desk. "Have a seat." She gestured towards the chair. Elaine sat down and Golda handed her some paperwork which Elaine then began to fill out. Golda spoke up, "I'll leave you to that. I have some things to straighten up around here. When you're done you can just leave them here and I'll get to them later."

"Alright," chirped Elaine. "Again, that you so much. This has been such a big help."

"It was my pleasure." She smiled. "It was lovely meeting you. Oh, and welcome to Chicago!"

Elaine laughed, "Thank you very much! It was lovely meeting you as well. And may I add that that is an absolutely beautiful necklace! I'm sure you've noticed me staring at it by now." She joked.

Golda touched the necklace and said, with an odd expression on her face, "Oh… thank you dear. Well… I hope you have a nice rest of the day." She laughed nervously as she walked away.

"You too." Elaine watched her leave trying to figure out Golda's expression when she mentioned her necklace. _Oh goodness, I hope she didn't think I was trying to suck up! But then again, I don't really have a reason to suck up… yet. Oh well. _She shrugged and continued to fill out the paperwork. _Maybe this has been a sign. One of my biggest fears about leaving New York was that I wouldn't be able to get a job. And if I did, I was assuming I'd have to start at the bottom. What are the odds that at the first gallery I wandered into I'd meet someone who worked in the same gallery that I had and came to Chicago for similar reasons? Then this person gives me a job as a receptionist, just like in New York. _Sure it may only be temporary and she may not have the same perks as she did when she was in New York, especially when it came to connections, but this was definitely more than she could have hoped to happen. This had to be a sign that everything was going to be okay.


	18. Literature and Lasagna

**Chapter 18**

Later that evening, when Arnie came home, Elaine ran up to him, "Hi honey, how was work, do you like being the Vice President, must have been a great day, you'll never guess what happened to me!" she said all in one breath.

"What? You discovered a candy store and bought everything you saw?" he joked.

Elaine laughed, "No, sorry I'm just really excited!"

"Well tell me the news!" he eagerly demanded.

"I found a job! A great job! I'm not starting at the bottom! It's in this gallery called The Eldridge. It's a very cute place and the woman I spoke with was so kind! She's from New York as well! What's even more amazing is that she worked in the gallery I used to work in when it first opened! Anyways, the receptionist at The Eldridge is going on maternity leave starting next week so I'll be filling in for a few months and then Golda, the woman I spoke with, said that she could find something for me to do there! I am so thrilled about this I can't stand it!" she squeaked.

"Oh sweetie that marvelous! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you!" she hugged him. "Okay, that's enough about me. Tell me all about your first day!" she pulled him over to the couch and sat down.

"It was surprisingly good! I thought I'd be swamped with work to do but it was very laid back. I have a huge office all to myself with a fantastic view outside the window. Once I get settled there I am definitely going to take you on the grand tour. The people are nice, the building is nice. In general, it's nice!"

"That really great, Arnie. I'm so glad! I can't wait to go and visit." She beamed.

"How do the kids like their new school?" he asked.

"They love it! Each of them have great teachers and Jason has already made some friends. I'm sure they'll tell you the rest over dinner."

"Great, what are we having?"

"I made lasagna. Is that okay?"

He licked his lips, "Mmm, sounds delicious."

Elaine giggled, "Good." She stood up and walking into the kitchen while saying, "It should be just about ready." She opened the stove to check on it, "Yep, it's ready now. Arnie, could you call Jennifer and Jason to dinner?"

"Sure thing." He stood up and walked over to their doors and knocked, "Jennifer… Jason, dinner time." Jason quickly opened his door and ran out. "Finally, I'm starving!" Elaine called from the kitchen and asked, "Jason, could you please start setting the table?"

Jason moaned, "It's Jennifer's turn, I did it last time."

"Okay, then Jennifer can you please set it then?" she corrected.

Jason replied, "She hasn't come out of her room yet."

Elaine walked out of the kitchen with the lasagna and set it down on the table. She then walked over to Jennifer's door and knocked, "Jennifer, honey. Time for dinner."

"Just a minute." Jennifer yelled.

"Come now." Elaine said sternly.

"But mommy, I just want to finish reading this chapter. I'm at the best part!" she whined.

Elaine started to get frustrated, "Jennifer, as much as I'm thrilled that you are engrossed in a book, you need to come now. I need you to set the table."

Jennifer slammed her book shut and screamed, "Fine!" she then angrily opened her door and stormed out. Elaine, Jason, and Arnie all watched her, stunned, while she set the table. When she was done she noticed them looking at her. "What?"

Jason sneered, "What's your problem?"

Jennifer glared at Jason, "None of your business!"

"Jennifer," Elaine scolded, "I don't like you talking like that. Now apologize to your brother."

"But mom, he started it!" she continued to whine.

"I did not you liar!" Jason snapped. This began and back and forth screaming match between him and Jennifer. Elaine looked at Arnie with a look that Arnie knew meant that she was apologizing for the embarrassing display. Then she shouted over the kids' screaming, "Jason and Jennifer go to your rooms this instant!"

"But mom!" they cried.

"No buts, to your rooms and don't come out until you're calmed down and can talk about this!"

"See what you did, stupid?" Jason said, referring to Jennifer.

Elaine gasped, "Jason Nardo, you know better than to name call! Now both you go to your rooms now. I am not saying it again."

"I hate you!" Jason screamed as he stormed off into his room and slammed the door behind him.

"Me too!" Jennifer yelled and stormed off as well to her room, when she got to her door she turned towards Jason's room and screamed, "But I hate Jason even more!" then she went into her room and slammed her door.

Elaine sat down and put her head down on the table, after a moment she picked her head up and looked at Arnie, "I'm so sorry about that. I don't know what got into them." She sighed.

Arnie shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I should have tried to help you. I just never know what to say or do. I'm alright when it comes to the fun and happy things but when it comes to arguments and stuff I freeze up."

Elaine weakly smiled compassionately, "It's alright, trust me, now that you'll be seeing them more you'll get used to it."

"What do you mean? They don't fight that often."

Elaine laughed, "That's because you haven't lived with them before now. They do this at least once a week. Though, not typically this badly…" she confessed. "In a little while I'll call them back out here and I'll talk to them." She stood up and grabbed the lasagna, "Well I'm going to go put this back in the oven to keep it warm."

After about a half an hour Elaine called Jason and Jennifer out of their rooms. Slowly, they walked into the living room. Jason began, "Mommy, I'm sorry. And I don't hate you and I love you."

Jennifer spoke up, "I'm sorry too, Mommy. And I also love you."

Elaine opened her arms and said, "Come here you two." They walked over to her and gave her a big hug. Elaine continued, "Now you two apologize to each other."

Jason turned to Jennifer and said, "I'm sorry that I screamed at you…" "And…" Elaine said sternly, her tone telling him that he had something else to apologize about. He knew exactly what she meant, he added, "And I'm sorry that I called you stupid." He looked at Elaine who nodded acceptingly.

"I'm sorry that I was rude and screamed." Jennifer said.

"Good," Elaine nodded, "now give each a hug!" The two kids gave each other a hug. Then Elaine faced Jennifer towards her, "Now… is everything alright? You seemed upset."

Jennifer sighed, "I'm fine. I was just at a really great part of a book and I didn't want to put it down. I guess I over reacted."

"Are you sure that's all?" she interrogated. Jennifer smiled and nodded. Elaine then stood up and said, "Alright then, let's eat!"

Jason exclaimed, "Finally, I'm starving!"

"So am I!" stated Jennifer.

Elaine laughed, "I think we all are. Come on, you two sit down and I'll go grab dinner." They did as they were told and all of them enjoyed the rest of the evening.


	19. Kathryn

**Chapter 19**

The next week Elaine started her job at The Eldridge. She was surprised about how excited she was. Just a week ago she never would have imagined that she'd feel so happy so soon. Before she went in she stood outside the door and took it all in. Then she walked in with her head held high. She was greeted by Golda, "Ah, right on time." She smiled, "How are you today?"

Elaine smiled, "I'm well, how are you?"

"I'm well also. So, I have some meetings to attend today. Not much will be going on here; one of the artists should be stopping by with a couple of paintings for the exhibit on Friday. When she gets here you can help her hang them on the two spaces on the wall in the other room." She pointed in the direction of the room.

"Alright, will do." Elaine responded.

Golda added, "As for everything else I'm sure you know what to do."

Elaine nodded, "Yes."

"Good, I will see you later." Golda headed towards the door, "If for any reason you need to reach me I left a piece of paper with my pager number on the desk."

"Okay, thanks." Elaine waved as Golda left. Elaine walked around a bit to get an idea of the layout as she waited for the artist to arrive. It really was a cute little place, and some of the art was incredible. About two hours after Elaine had arrived, the artist she was expecting walked in and said to Elaine, "Hi, I'm Kathryn Johnston. I have a couple of paintings that I'm dropping off. Is Golda Smuckler here? She's the one I spoke to on the phone."

Elaine stood up, "Oh good, you're the person I've been waiting for. I'm Elaine Nardo. I'm the new- uh, temporary receptionist. Golda has some meetings today so she said I could help you."

"Alright cool, well here are the paintings." She said as she help up two covered frames. "Where should I leave them?"

"Come with me, do you need any help carrying them?" she offered.

"Nah, it's alright I've got them." Kathryn smiled as she followed Elaine. Elaine helped Kathryn put her paintings up on the walls. She had never seen art quite like Kathryn's before. They were very abstract and colorful, yet that the same time they, in their own way, told a story. Within the abstractness of them you could, if you looked at them carefully, make out people, things, or even places. "Kathryn, I can't tell you enough how magnificent I think these paintings are!" Elaine complimented.

"Thank you so, so much! That's really great to hear. Most of my feedback comes from my five year old daughter. This is the first time my work will ever be displayed." She said happily.

"Awe, how sweet. What's her name?"

Kathryn smiled and answered, "Soleil."

"That's such a beautiful name!" exclaimed Elaine. "I don't think I've ever heard that name before."

"It's French for sun."

"Lovely." Elaine grinned.

"Do you have any children?" Kathryn asked curiously.

"Yes, I have a ten year old son named Jason and an eight year old daughter named Jennifer." She beamed.

"That's wonderful! Children are the greatest."

Elaine nodded in agreement, "They truly are. Is Soleil coming to the exhibit Friday?"

"Absolutely!" Kathryn answered cheerfully. She loves seeing the paintings. I take her nearly everywhere I go so I kind of got her interested in art." She said proudly. "How about you, do you take your children to these kinds of events?"

Elaine shook her head, "No, I wish. The one time I took them all they did was complain that they were bored and then started running around the place like maniacs." She laughed, "Maybe your kid could teach my kids a lesson or two."

"Aw, that's too bad." Kathryn said sympathetically. "I guess I don't have a choice really… Soleil's father left shortly after she was born. I have no idea where he went. I just came home one day and he was gone. No note- nothing."

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! That's terrible." She frowned.

"Thanks. I'm sorry I didn't mean to vent."

"Don't be sorry. I'm glad you did. To be honest, I've really enjoyed our conversation. I haven't really talked to many people outside my home since I've gotten here." Elaine admitted.

"Oh, did you just move here?" Elaine nodded and Kathryn continued, "From where?"

"New York City."

Kathryn gasped, "You're from New York? Gosh, I've always wanted to go there! But, I somehow ended up here."

Elaine laughed, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Kathryn shrugged, "It isn't I guess. I just would love to visit there someday! I've always dreamed of seeing the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Have you been? Is it just fantastic?"

"Yeah, it's pretty great."

"I'm curious," Kathryn began, "what made you decide to move from New York City to Chicago?"

Elaine told her story in great detail. She even mentioned how she had had doubts and bad feelings towards it. She could feel Kathryn listening with all her heart and could feel that she really cared. It felt good to finally be able to tell someone about how she felt. She sort of told Simka but there was more to it that she was leaving out. After she told her story she began to miss the guys back home. Once she got started she just let everything come out. She told her about everyone and even told her some stories. "They all sound like wonderful people." Kathryn said once Elaine was finished.

"Yeah… they really are. Man, I miss them so much. Geez, I didn't mean to go on like that. I've just been keeping it to myself and I guess I just couldn't keep it in much longer. Thank you so much for listening."

Kathryn smiled sincerely, "Any time." She then checked her watch. "Yikes, I need to get going and pick Soleil up from daycare. So will I see you Friday?"

Elaine nodded, "Yep, I'll be here. I can't wait to meet Soleil!"

"I'm sure she'll be excited to meet you too. It was so great talking to you. See you later!" she waved as she walked towards the door. Elaine waved back. Once Kathryn had left Elaine slumped down in the chair at the desk and wondered what the guys in New York were up too. _Hmm… I wonder if I'm allowed to use the phone here for personal calls… _she thought as she started to reach for the phone. Then she stopped herself. _No, no. Let's not do something that could jeopardize your job on the first day. I'll just have to call them when I get home. _Elaine finished out her day and then picked Jennifer and Jason up from school. She helped them with their homework and got dinner ready. They ate once Arnie came home. After the kids were in bed Elaine said to Arnie, "Honey, while you do that paperwork I'm going go makes some calls."

He looked up from the papers that were in front of him, "Sure sweetie, just let me know when you're done."

"I will." She started walking towards the bedroom when Arnie spoke again, "You calling New York?"

"Yeah… I was, uh, thinking about them earlier so I figured I'd see what they have been up too." She slightly stammered.

"You miss 'em don't'cha?" Elaine just shrugged and Arnie chuckled, "It's okay to tell me that you miss them."

Elaine slowly walked back over to where Arnie was sitting. "Alright… I'll admit it. I miss them."

Arnie laughed, "Elaine, were you afraid to tell me that?" he stood up and put his arm around her.

She stuttered, "I don't know… I-I guess so. I guess I didn't want to disappoint you or… something."

"And you call **me **the silly one!" he joked. "Elaine, I won't be upset, mad, or disappointed because you miss your friends. That's completely normal when you move away. I miss my friends that I left behind."

She looked at him, "Really?"

"Of course I do! Now… go call your friends and I'll finish up my work here."

"Alright," Elaine smiled as she started heading back towards the bedroom, "I'll let you know when I'll off the phone." Arnie smiled back and sat back down.


	20. Homesick

**Chapter 20**

Elaine sat down on the bed with the phone and contemplated who to call first. She decided to call Louie first, to start off easier. After talking to him for a little bit she called Jim, then Tony. After talking to them she tried to decide whether to call Latka and Simka or Alex first. She missed them most of all. Finally she just started dialing and whichever number came out first would be the one she called first. Alex.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Alex, hi! It's Elaine, oh my goodness it's so great to hear your voice!" she said happily.

Alex perked up, "Wow, hi Elaine! It's great to hear yours too. How do you like Chicago so far?"

"I have to say, it's been pretty good. I was very lucky with a job; I'm a receptionist at a gallery called The Eldridge, it was the first one I wandered in to when I went around looking. I ended up talking to this very nice woman named Golda Smuckler."

Alex laughed, "Golda Smuckler? That's quite an interesting name."

Elaine smirked, _same old Alex… _"Yes… she's very kind but she's got a weird thing about her jewels. When I complimented her necklace once she started to act very strangely. And today when someone else did she did the same thing. I'm very curious as to why she does that but I'm new so I don't want to mess anything up. Anyways, I think I've also become friends with one of the artists I met today. Her name is Kathryn Johnston. I think she's around twenty five, her artwork is amazing, she has a five year old daughter named Soleil, and she's a great listener! I ended up telling her the whole story of me moving here in great detail."

Alex smiled, "That really sounds great, Elaine. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks… so tell me, how have you been? What have you been up too? How is everyone there? Man, I miss you guys so, so, so, **so** much! I wish I could have brought all of you here with me." She said rapidly.

Alex chuckled, "I wish you could have too. We miss you so much as well. We all have been well. I haven't been up to too much. Tony and I went to a hockey game the other day. Other than that it's been the same old same old."

Elaine sighed, "Ah… same old same old sounds nice. I miss it." She laughed slightly.

"Don't worry, soon enough Chicago will be same old same old for you."

"I guess," she sighed again, "I guess part of me still doesn't want to admit that Chicago is my new home, despite how wonderful it's been… I guess I'm just being silly, huh?"

He took a moment before responding, "Yeah… silly."

There was an awkward silence until Elaine finally spoke up, "Well… it's getting late and I still need to call Latka and Simka."

"Alright… are you calling everyone?"

"Yeah, when I was talking to Kathryn today about you guys it made me miss you and I just had to talk to you all."

"Well I'm glad you did."

"Talk to you later?" she asked.

"Yep…" he said solemnly. They both said goodbye. Alex couldn't believe that he was feeling the way he was feeling. Never had he felt this way about a woman before. Not even his ex-wife. When he heard Elaine's voice his heart skipped a beat. For some reason he just assumed that he'd never hear from her or see her again (unaware of her plan to visit when Simka was to have her baby). He supposed he was just a bit shocked, but not necessarily in a bad way.

* * *

Elaine gently hung up the phone. Maybe making these calls wasn't such a good idea. She began feeling very home sick again. She still wanted to call Latka and Simka though; she wanted to know how the baby was doing. Once again she picked up the phone, this time dialing Latka and Simka's number. No answer. _Hmm… _Elaine thought, _they must be out._ On that note she put the phone back on the side table and went out into the living room to tell Arnie she was through.


	21. Gallery Opening

**Chapter 21**

The rest of Elaine's week went smoothly. Friday came and she was excited, yet nervous at the same time. She had asked Arnie to attend the exhibit opening with her but he said that he would be too nervous around 'the type of people' that would most likely be attending. Elaine didn't bother to argue. At least this would give Arnie an opportunity to be with Jennifer and Jason without her around. That was hard enough to convince him to do. Elaine spent the evening before the opening getting ready. She had bought a beautiful new dress, and got her hair and nails done. It reminded her of her first opening she had ever been to while working in a gallery. These kinds of events where a great way to make contacts. She was particularly excited to see Kathryn. A friend around here would be nice to have. Speaking to the guys back in New York was going to be harder than she thought. Hearing their voices made her miss them even more. To her delight, Kathryn was already there when she arrived. Kathryn was with Soleil, looking at Kathryn's paintings. Elaine watched a bit, adoring how the little girl looked so proud of her mother's paintings. The resemblance between them was striking. They both had long, dark hair. Though, Kathryn's hair was straight while Soleil's was a bit wavy. Kathryn was wearing dark jeans with a very lacey and colorful top. To top off the look she had a rose in her hair. Soleil was wearing a long orange and pink dress that had what looked like tiny daisies along the bottom. Elaine couldn't help but smile at their appearance. They looked like they were very close. While Elaine was lost in her thoughts Kathryn spotted Elaine and called, "Elaine, hi! Remember me? I'm Kathryn." She smiled.

Elaine snapped back into reality, "Of course I remember you! It's so great to see you." She shook her hand and continued, "And this must be Soleil!" she kneeled down and reached out her hand which Soleil shook without hesitation. "Yes I am!" she chirped, "It's very nice to meet you and you're very pretty."

"Awe, how sweet of you too say! Thank you, you're very pretty also."

Soleil grinned. "Thank you."

Elaine stood up and said to Kathryn, "She is so adorable and charming! With my kids it's a hesitant hand shake and a quiet 'hello'."

Kathryn giggled, "Thank you! I was definitely lucky with this one." She beamed.

Kathryn and Elaine talked on and off throughout the night. They each had their own things do there. It was Elaine's job to meet and greet people and to see to the guests' needs while Kathryn's job was to talk to different buyers. Once it was over, the two talked one more time. Kathryn ran up to Elaine, "Elaine, Elaine, guess what?!" she called with much excitement in her voice.

"What, what?!" Elaine answered with equal enthusiasm.

"Someone is interested in buying some of my paintings!" she screeched.

Elaine gasped, "Oh my gosh that is so great! Congratulations!"

"Thank you so much! I was so surprised! I never thought my paintings were **that **good."

Elaine huffed teasingly, "Are you kidding? They are fantastic!" she winked.

"You **really **think so?" Kathryn interrogated.

Elaine assured her, "Yes, I **really **think so!"

Kathryn acceptingly smiled, "Thanks. Well, I'd love to stay and chat more but I think it's time to get Soleil to bed." She said as she looked at the child in her arms.

Elaine laughed softly, "Yeah, she looks pretty sleepy."

"So, I'll see you around?" she said as she began walking towards the door.

Elaine nodded, "Yep." Kathryn began to walk out the door but Elaine suddenly called after her, "Wait, wait, Kathryn?"

Kathryn quickly turned around, "Yes?"

"I was wondering… would you and Soleil want to come over to my place and have dinner some night? I know we've only just met and everything but I think you're so nice and I'm still new to this city and haven't really made any friends yet and I'd love to get to know you better."

Kathryn couldn't help but laugh at Elaine's nervous babbling. "We'd love to come to dinner, Elaine. What night works for you?"

"Gosh, well… I'm still not a hundred percent sure what my schedule is like… so I'll just say whenever works for you."

Kathryn continued to laugh, "Well I'm free this weekend, unless that's too soon for you?"

"No, no," Elaine quickly said, "this weekend is fine! Is Sunday good?"

"Yeah, Sunday would be awesome!"

Elaine grinned, "Great! Here, let me write down my address and I'll give you my telephone number." She rushed over to the desk and grabbed a blank piece of paper and a pen and wrote down her address and phone number and then rushed back over to where Kathryn was standing. "Here you go." She said as she handed the paper to her."

"Alright, sweet. I can't wait!" Kathryn said enthusiastically.

"Neither can I! So Sunday, say around 6ish?" Elaine inquired.

"Sounds great, see you then!" Kathryn waved and went on her way.

Elaine went to find her coat and couldn't stop smiling. Yes, it was official, things were looking up. She would just have to learn to get used to the feeling of missing her friends back in New York. Besides, it wasn't like she was never going to see them. In just a matter of months she's be back with them and Latka and Simka's new baby. Even if it would be for only a short while. Also, it's not like that would be the only time she would be able to visit. Arnie had told her earlier in the week that if she ever was feeling so homesick that she had to go visit them that he would pay for her ticket. With his new position at the bank he was making some good money. In fact, when Elaine had started looking for another job (to help pay her and the children's expenses, the job at the gallery still didn't pay enough) Arnie had stopped her and said that he didn't want her working two jobs if she didn't have too; that he'd help take care of her. This was certainly a big step in their relationship. So at least she wouldn't be cut off from home permanently. When she got home the first thing she did was wake up Arnie, who had fallen asleep on the sofa, and told him all about it. "That's great, honey!" he wearily answered.

"I know! I am just so, so excited about it. She is so kind and her daughter is adorable. It'll be great to have a friend here. Speaking of kids… did mine give you any trouble tonight?" she asked nervously.

"Nah, they were fine. Jason was out here watching something on television and Jennifer was in her room reading."

"Huh…" Elaine took a moment before finishing her thought, "I've never seen Jennifer reading so much. She has always liked it but in moderation. Never before had she told me to wait until she finished a chapter nor has she isolated herself from everyone. She usually likes to be where the action is… Do you think she's alright?"

Arnie shrugged as he stood up from the couch, "I'd have no idea. Kids still confuse me." He said half-jokingly.

Elaine chuckled halfheartedly, "Don't worry; they confuse me too at times. I hope everything is alright. I hope even more that she'd come to me if something was wrong. Maybe I should talk to her about it tomorrow."

"Good idea." He yawned, "Well, I'm exhausted. You coming to bed?"

"In a bit. I think I'm going to make myself something to eat. I didn't really get a chance to eat at the gallery."

Arnie nodded and sluggishly walked into the bedroom. Elaine sat on the couch for a moment, still wondering what could be bothering Jennifer. _She doesn't seem sick… oh, maybe she's home sick? This is a weekend that she'd usually see her father. But then again, she's locked herself in her room since we've got here for the most part. _She sighed, _I'm definitely going to need to talk to her about what's going on tomorrow. _She stood up and went into the kitchen to look for something to eat. She decided to just pour a bowl of cereal. After she ate she decided to check on the children. First, she checked on Jason who was fast asleep. When she opened the door to Jennifer's room she saw a light on from under her blanket. "Jennifer? Are you still up?" Elaine asked with shock in her voice.

Jennifer quickly turned the flashlight off, "No."

Elaine rolled her eyes and walked over to Jennifer and pulled the blanket off her head. "You sure seem up to me."

Jennifer sighed, "Okay, okay… I'm still awake. But I'm reading, that counts for something right?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not." Elaine said as she sat down.

"I'm sorry, Mommy… it's just that this is a really good book!"

"Peter Pan?" that was the last book she had heard Jennifer mention.

"No, I finished that two days ago. Now I'm reading The Wizard of Oz." Jennifer grinned.

Elaine was stunned, "You're already on **another **book?"

Jennifer nodded, "That's right!"

"Jennifer," she took a deep breath, "I think we need to talk."

Jennifer looked at Elaine anxiously, "What's wrong, Mommy? Am I in trouble?"

Elaine took Jennifer's hand, "No, you're not in trouble… I'm starting to get worried about you."

"How come?"

"Because you've been hiding out here in your room, you've been awfully quiet, and I've never seen you read so fast before."

"Is reading a bad thing?" her voice shook.

"Oh sweetie…" Elaine pulled Jennifer up and sat her on her lap. "No, reading isn't a bad thing. I'm so proud about how much you've been reading. But in general… you just haven't been acting like yourself. You'd tell me if anything was wrong, wouldn't you?" Jennifer was silent, unsure of what to say. Eventually, she muttered, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry; I just want to know what's going on."

"It's nothing." Jennifer crawled out of her mother's arms and back into bed under the covers.

Elaine stood up and tucked her in, "Frankly, I'm having a hard time believing that it's nothing. But we don't have to talk about it now, it's way past your bedtime." She kissed Jennifer on the forehead, "I love you."

"I love you too, Mommy."

Elaine headed towards the door but before she left she added, "And remember that you can always come to me and talk to me about anything. I want to be there for you if something is wrong… goodnight."

"Goodnight." Jennifer replied softly.


	22. Friends and Bullies

**Chapter 22**

Sunday came and Elaine spent the day preparing dinner. She had already told Jennifer and Jason about Soleil and told them to treat her nicely. They said they would and the helped Elaine cook dinner. Elaine had a hunch that Kathryn didn't eat meat, so she made sure that everything was vegetarian. When Kathryn showed up that was one of the first things Elaine asked. When Kathryn said that she was indeed a vegetarian Elaine was thrilled. "You know, I thought so!" Elaine said enthusiastically, "I made a salad and vegetable fajitas and the chocolate mousse for dessert. Does that sound good?"

"Oh wow, yeah that sounds great!" Kathryn happily responded.

"Oh good!" Elaine turned towards Jennifer and Jason's rooms and called, "Jason, Jennifer, come on out. Kathryn and Soleil are here."

Both Jason and Jennifer scurried out into the living room to say hello. Jennifer and Soleil instantly hit it off. Kathryn, Elaine, Jason, Jennifer, and Soleil all sat down and had dinner. Arnie had gone out to a game with a couple of the guys from his work. After dinner Jennifer and Soleil colored while Jason, after a while, went into his room. Kathryn and Elaine talked over tea. It started to get late so Kathryn and Soleil decided to head home. Right after they left Jennifer tugged on Elaine's arm. "Mommy," she started, "can Soleil come over again sometime?"

"Of course she can!"

"Yay!" Jennifer exclaimed gleefully. "Do you want to see what we drew?"

Elaine smiled, "I'd love too."

Jennifer took Elaine's hand and pulled her over to the table where she and Soleil had been drawing. She spread the papers out and told Elaine who drew what and what the picture was. Elaine loved seeing Jennifer showing an interest in art, even if it was just coloring. "I think we should frame some of these and put them up on the wall, Jennifer, they are great!"

"You think so?"

"Yes," Elaine chuckled, "also, I want to say how proud I am of you."

Jennifer looked at Elaine with a very confused look, "Why are you proud?"

"Because you were so nice to Soleil and you kept both of yourselves busy while Kathryn and I spoke."

"Oh, I didn't mind. I like Soleil. She seems like she's older than five. I'm also happy that I finally have a friend here now!"

Elaine's smile grew into a serious expression, "Finally have a friend here? You mean you haven't made any friends at school yet?"

Jennifer looked away, wishing she hadn't added that last part. "Uh, yeah I have. What I mean is… I finally had a friend over to my house…"

Elaine gently took Jennifer's chin, "Look at me…" Jennifer slowly turned towards Elaine and Elaine went on, "Tell me the truth… have you made any friends at school?"

Once again, Jennifer looked away and took a minute before she softly admitted, "No…"

Elaine's heart sank, "You haven't?" Jennifer shook her head and Elaine went on, "Sweetheart, why didn't you tell me?"

Jennifer shrugged, "I don't know… it didn't seem important."

"Of course it's important. I'm sure if you give it time you'll make a friend- I know it can be hard starting at a new school, especially when you start in the middle of the year but-" Elaine was interrupted by Jennifer beginning to cry. "Oh, Jennifer… don't cry."

"I can't help it, Mommy. I won't make any friends because they all hate me!" she wailed.

"I'm sure they don't hate you sweetie, maybe you just think they do."

"No!" Jennifer screeched, "I **know **they hate me! These three girls, Vanessa, Tara, and Katie, are so mean to me. I sit at their table in class and they make fun of me. They say that I'm the peasant loser girl from New York City. They make fun of how I dress, they make fun of my hair, and they always say that I should just go back to where I came from because nobody wants me here. The other day at recess I was just reading and minding my own business and Vanessa came up to me and grabbed the book right out of my hands and said, "You're reading at recess? I shouldn't be surprised, only geeks from New York would do that. You're afraid to play with any of us because you think that we all have germs. You think you're so much better than us don't you?" I stood up and tried to get my book back but she pushed me down and they started throwing the book between them." She sobbed.

"Oh my goodness… Jennifer why didn't you tell me about this sooner?!" Elaine asked beyond shocked about what her daughter just told her.

"Because it would just make everything worse. I tried telling the teacher on the first day but all she said was, "It must all be in your head, Vanessa, Katie, and Tara are the sweetest girls in the class. Go sit down and do your work." When I sat back down they kept calling me a tattle tale and that I'd probably just run home crying to my mommy. I didn't want them to be right so I decided not to tell you."

Elaine stood up, picked Jennifer up and brought her over to the couch and sat down. "It isn't tattling when it's this serious. They have absolutely no right to be saying the things that they are saying to you or doing the things that they are doing. You are **not **a peasant. They are just jealous about what a great kid you are."

"You're my mother you're supposed to say that."

"Maybe, but it's true. You got along great with everyone at your old school so you need to believe me when I say that no one hates you."

Jennifer angrily stood up, "Fine, then maybe it's just everybody in Chicago. I want to go home! I hate it here!" she screamed as she began to storm off to her room.

"Jennifer, come back here." Elaine stood up and followed her.

"No!" she yelled as she slammed her door.

Elaine went to open the door but stopped herself. She decided to let Jennifer cool down. _I cannot believe that this is what has been going on. _She thought, _and that teacher had no right to undermine her like that. _She knew one thing was for sure, she was going to march down to that school tomorrow and raise some hell. Her kids had never been bullied before and she wasn't going to stand for it for one moment. Elaine was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard Jason come out of his room and walk up behind her. "Mommy?" he said causing Elaine to jump.

"Oh Jason, sorry you startled me… what's up?"

Jason sat down next to Elaine, "What's the matter with Jennifer? I heard her yelling and crying."

Elaine sighed, "She just told me about what has been happening to her at school."

"Oh you mean with those mean girls Katie, Tara, and Vanessa?"

Elaine quickly turned her head, "You mean you knew about this?"

Jason nodded, "Yeah…"

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Sorry… I wanted to but Jennifer made me promise that I wouldn't. Are you mad at me?"

"No…" she shook her head, "I'm not mad at you. I'm just mad at the situation."

"What are you going to do?" Jason asked nosily.

"For starters I'm going to the school tomorrow and talking to her teacher. I'll see what she says, but from what Jennifer told me from when she said she tried talking to her… it's not going to be easy."

Jason nodded in agreement, "She seems like a bad teacher. I can hear her yelling from my classroom."

"She yells too?"

"Yeah, she doesn't seem like a nice person."

"Oh boy…" she sighed anxiously. "Well… wish me luck. It's getting late you should start thinking about heading to bed."

"Alright. Goodnight. I love you." He hugged her goodnight and went back to his room.

After another minute Elaine stood up and went back to Jennifer's room. She opened the door and peaked in, "Jennifer, are you asleep?"

"No." she whined from under the covers.

Elaine walked over to her and sat down on the bed. "I'm so sorry that this has been going on. I'm going to do everything I can to stop it. If it gets any worse or continues I need you to tell me right away. Alright?"

"Okay… but I'm still afraid that it's going to get worse."

Elaine shrugged, "Hey, if worse comes to worse we will just have you transfer to another one of the schools."

Jennifer tiredly nodded, "Alright… thanks Mommy."

Elaine kissed her goodnight and left the room saying, "Things will get better. I promise."


	23. Nightmare

**Chapter 23**

Early the next morning Elaine went down to the school and demanded to speak to Jennifer's teacher. Luckily, she was allowed too without an argument. Elaine explained to the teacher about what was going on and that Jennifer told her about when she went to the teacher for help. The teacher apologized though Elaine could tell she didn't really mean it. The teacher still tried to defend the bullies and said that it's always hard to adjust when a kid comes in during the middle of the school year. This made Elaine mad and she started raising her voice and saying that it was much harder on the new kid than the classmates. In efforts to get Elaine out of her hair the teacher agreed to move Jennifer to a different table and see how that went. Elaine agreed but warned the teacher if she heard of any more bullying that she would be back. For the next week Elaine kept asking Jennifer if things were any better. Jennifer seemed sincere when she said that everything was fine. She also said that Jason helped scare the bullies off. The same day that Elaine had gone and talked to the teacher, Vanessa, Tara, and Katie had found out about it and at recess started making fun of Jennifer. Jason noticed and marched over to them and warned them to leave Jennifer alone. At first they didn't take him seriously but when he mentioned that he had been a boxer and was friends with a professional boxer, they were scared. He budged the truth a bit… he was friends with a boxer; Tony. And he **had **boxed. The first time Jason boxed he creamed the other kid. But the second time his opponent knocked him out almost immediately and breaking Jason's nose in the process. But Tara, Vanessa, and Katie didn't need to know that. Ever since then they backed off. Now that that had been settled, things were looking great again. Arnie was happy at his new job, as well as Elaine. Elaine and Kathryn were becoming great friends. Jason and Jennifer were both happy in school. When Elaine looked back on how upset she was about leaving New York she felt silly. Chicago was a great place. Two months had passed and everything was right. One night, Elaine had the place to herself. Arnie had to work late, Jason was sleeping over his friend Brian's house and Jennifer was sleeping over with Soleil (they had become great friends). Elaine just spent a quiet evening in, puttering around. She tidied up a bit and watched some television but nothing good was on. She ended up pacing the apartment. She stumbled upon some boxes that she had yet to unpack. _May as well take care of them now, _she thought. Two of the boxes were Jason and Jennifer's summer clothes, another was a box of photo albums (which she decided not to look through seeing as she had finally shook the homesickness), and lastly was the bag that she had almost forgot in her locker back at the garage. Suddenly she remembered, _I never finished- well began really… reading that letter! _She quickly fished it out of the bag and unfolded it. She took a deep breath before she began to read. Seeing as she found it crumpled up outside the trashcan, there had to be a reason why whoever wrote it didn't send it or give it to her. _On second thought… maybe I shouldn't read it… oh who am I kidding? It will drive me crazy if I don't! _She began:

_Dear Elaine,_

_There has been something that I have wanted to tell you for what feels like forever but whenever I was given the opportunity I wimped out. Anyways, what I have to say is that I love you. I love you so much. I love the way you talk, I love the way you laugh, I adore your smile… but I also love our friendship, and that has always been what's stopped me from telling you how I feel. Lord knows that I've been given many chances to confess. I came so close to telling you once… that last night in Europe we spent together. I will never forget that for as long as I live. Being able to kiss you, and to be close to you, and even just being able to hold your hand. It was possibly one of the best nights of my life. What stopped me from telling you then was that fact that we had agreed to spend that night together saying it was a one-time thing and that our friendship was strong enough to survive it. If I told you then who knows what could have happened? It could have been absolutely terrible or absolutely wonderful. Then again, I wasn't in the best frame of mind so that could have complicated things. Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter much now… Anyway, as I'm writing this I am definitely regretting not telling you how I feel when I had the chance. I'm writing this, even though I'd never send this to you, in hopes of some sort of closure I guess. You've moved on with your live and I guess it's time that I've moved on with mine. I keep trying to tell myself that I'm beyond happy for you. But the truth of the matter is that, yes, I am happy for you because you seem like you're happy and that's important to me; yet at the same time I can't help but feel selfish sadness, bitterness, anger, and hurt. I guess I'll have to leave it up to time to heal those feelings. No one has made me feel the way that you make me feel before, not even my ex-wife. And I don't think anyone else will ever make me feel this way. I don't even know if I can put the feeling to words. It's a comfort to be around you and I feel wonderful when I'm around you. I miss you when you're not around and I could just listen to your voice for hours... Well… I guess I'll just have to get used to you not being around. I guess I've been pretty silly this whole time anyway. You've been dating other people as have I. Though, I guess as much as I tried to deny my feelings for you, they always came through when I was with other women which I'm sure scared them off. Or I just ended it with them for a dumb reason. Deep down I am very happy for you and Arnie but as of right now I'm still very sad about the whole thing; especially about the fact that he is taking you away to Chicago… I'm glad you came and found me so you could say goodbye. I'm sure that would have become another thing that I would regret. Hopefully saying goodbye the way we did helped with giving me closure. I still hope to see you again someday._

_I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you..._

_Just wanted to make up for all the times that I wished I had said it… though that hardly covers it._

_I really do love you and I will miss you more than anything… Thank you for all the wonderful memories you have given me._

_Love,  
Alex_

Elaine collapsed into tears and held the letter as close to her heart as possible. _Has he really felt this way this way all along?_ She thought as she sobbed. Thank goodness no one was home to hear her or see her. She would never be able to explain this display. _Why? Why did I have to read this __**now**__? Everything was going so well. If only I had known! _Her crying became heavier. The truth was that she had had feelings for Alex for quite some time; and on one level she knew that he was attracted to her as well. She never knew just how deep the attraction went though. She had always kind of hoped that one day Alex would come up to her and finally confess to her how he felt. But eventually she just figured that they were friends and that's all they ever would be. Actually, she had had this revelation around the same time Arnie came into the picture. This sparked a lot of panicked thoughts for Elaine. _Have I been using Arnie this whole time to get over Alex? Is our relationship really what I thought it was- or… is? Was moving to Chicago the absolute worst thing I could have done? _She tried slowing down these questions that were hitting her all at once. She had just started to calm down when she realized something that once again made her sob, _Oh my gosh… all of those times I went to Alex about me and Arnie- or any other man I was seeing. Good and bad. He was so supportive of me and so understanding and caring… but in reality it was hurting him? I'm such an idiot! How did I not see this? How?! Oh, I'd give anything to just go back in time right now… How will I face him when I visit? I can't very well tell him that I know. He'd know that I was snooping. Well sort of… What __**am **__I going to do? I can't tell Arnie, I can't tell Simka or anyone else back home. Maybe I could talk to Kathryn… yeah, and get an outsider's opinion. _All of her feelings towards Alex came rushing back to her. _This can't be happening… This has to be a dream- a nightmare._


	24. Golda

**Chapter 24**

Elaine spent the weekend trying to get her mind off of Alex. It definitely wasn't an easy task though. Part of her felt like she shouldn't be with Arnie if she was feeling the way she was feeling about Alex's letter. But she wasn't quite sure what the feeling was. As far as she knew she had managed to hide everything from Arnie. Who knows what would happen if he found out about the letter. He was naturally paranoid about everything; she didn't want to give him a reason to be paranoid about losing her. On Monday she went to work in hopes that Kathryn would be dropping off or picking up a painting; or even just stopping by. No such luck. Elaine did everything she could to stay focused on her work but she kept drifting off into a day dream or just got lost in her thoughts. Golda noticed Elaine's preoccupation. "Elaine… is everything alright?"

Elaine jumped slightly because she hadn't realized that Golda was in the same room as her. "Oh… uh, yeah. Everything's fine."

Golda sat down next to Elaine, "I find that hard to believe."

Elaine sighed, "Alright… there **has** been something on my mind."

"Would you like to talk about it? I'm always here to listen."

Elaine smiled, "Well… I would actually really love to talk about it, but it's kind of… long and complicated is the best way I can describe it."

Golda shrugged, "I'm all ears."

"Well…" she took a deep breath and began. "I have this friend back in New York, Alex. He and I have had an… interesting friendship. We have been friends for… wow, around six, going on seven years now. Over the years both of us had expressed, in our own ways, an attraction to one another. We both valued our friendship though and we afraid to really get involved. Though, we did once. We were traveling Europe and all he had wanted was a passionate night with a foreign woman but he couldn't get a date. Whilst I, on the other hand, had a different date almost every night. By the last night of the trip I had realized just how depressed he was by the whole vacation, I had even saw a postcard he addressed to me saying, "Dear Elaine, the time we spent writing postcards together was the best part of my trip." After I read that I said to him that we had been friends for, at the time, four years and that we've seen each other at our worst. And if we could remain friends after all of those bad times, that maybe our friendship was strong enough to survive one night of love. So we agreed our affair would last only that one night. The more I knew him the stronger my feelings for him became, but I finally had to get it through my mind that he and I would only ever be friends. I figured his feelings were mutual. Then Arnie, my current boyfriend, entered the picture. Our relationship was at an unknown status for about five months because I still always kind of hoped that Alex and I would get together. I had a nasty habit of pushing a guy away because of a minor flaw, and Arnie isn't really the kind of guy I'd normally date. But there was something about him that was so endearing to me. I finally had to tell myself to not push Arnie away like the others to make room for someone who was never going to be there. So, that brings us to now… I told you that Arnie got a promotion, or job offer, or whatever here in Chicago and that I had to make the decision if I wanted to move here or not with him, right? Anyways, after that very hard decision and talking to all my friends and asking them for their opinions… I decided to move. I had been feeling homesick for a while but I had finally gotten past it. I was really starting to get used to my new life here. I was feeling great. But then, a couple nights ago, Arnie and my children were all out so I was just wandering around the apartment and I came across some stuff I hadn't had the chance to go through or put away yet. One was a bag that I had almost left in my locker back at the garage in New York. I ran by to pick it up before we left. When I was taking a final look at the garage I noticed a crumbled up piece of paper on the ground next to the trash can. Some of the words were peeking out and I thought I had seen my name. I picked it up and began to read it there but then Arnie came in saying that we needed to go. I stuffed it in my bag and had completely forgotten about it until I came across it the other night. So I did the stupidest thing ever and read it. It was a letter from Alex saying that he was in love with me and had been for quite some time. He never intended on sending it, he said so in the letter. After I read it I just totally lost it and collapsed into tears. Part of me knew why but the other didn't. I felt bad because I'd always go to him whenever there was a problem in a relationship and he'd give me the best advice despite his feelings. I also felt so sad because if only he had told me earlier… or at least before I left. Then I felt guilty because I felt all those old feelings come back to me and all I could, and can, think is what about Arnie? How can I be with him if I'm feeling this way about Alex? Arnie is such a dear and wonderful man and I don't want to hurt him. If I went back to New York to be with Alex it would also affect my kids. They adore Arnie. There's also the matter of actually telling Alex that I read the letter. I can't even image how I'd start that conversation. I mean, he obviously never wanted me to read it. I have no clue how I'm going to face him when I go to visit. That will be in the near future because I'm going to fly out when my friend Simka has her baby. I feel like I need to figure this all out right away because I don't want to be leading Arnie on. Also, the selfish part of me doesn't want Alex to get over me. Oh gosh, that sounded worse out loud…" She sighed, "That's just about it…"

Golda looked at Elaine in astonishment, "Wow… I can certainly see why you've been lost in your head all day."

"Yeah… what do you think?" Elaine asked curiously.

"Well, to be honest I'm not sure. It's quite a predicament."

"Oh…" she laughed half-heartedly, "And I thought the decision of staying in New York or moving to Chicago was hard." She thought for a moment and then asked Golda, "Tell me, has there ever been a time in your life where you were faced with a completely life changing decision?"

Golda got a funny look on her face, "Um… well, uh…" she stopped.

Elaine looked at her with a very confused expression, "Is that a yes?"

Golda sighed, "Well… I guess I can trust you…"

Elaine grew serious, "Sounds big."

Golda nodded, "Yeah, it been years since I've actually told anyone."

"Well, if you want to talk about it I'm here, if not, I understand."

"I'll tell you, it'll be good to get it off my chest… well… in the Thirties through the early Fifties, I was a jewel thief."

Elaine gasped, "What?"

"I'm not proud of it. You see, I didn't come from a very wealthy family. It never really bothered me until I moved to New York City. I kept seeing all these uptown ladies with their fancy coats and fine jewels and I so wanted to have nice things just like they did. I aspired to be one of those women someday. That was around the time of The Great Depression though, so work was nearly impossible to find. One day I was strolling 5th Avenue and I passed a window display and I saw the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen in my life. I don't know what came over me but I went into the store and just took it. I got away with it too, no one caught me. I told myself that I would never steal again but when I got home and tried on the necklace I felt so… I don't even know how to describe it. Slowly it became a terrible habit. I was good at it too. I think only a few times did I get caught. After getting caught one time, a man who's name, I'm sorry, I can't mention, saw the ordeal and then approached me asked if I'd like to join his gang. Basically, it was a mob and they needed someone to steal the jewels for them to sell. I agreed and I had the time of my life. It was such a rush. Then around 1947, I fell in love with a wonderful man. He knew nothing about my 'career' though. After a few years he proposed to me. I didn't want my life as a thief to interfere in our relationship. I had to decide if my love for him was greater than my love for jewels. After a long thinking process, I finally chose Edward. I quit the mob and began my search for a job. I had told Edward that I was very into Art so he just assumed that I was involved in the art world. That's when the Hazeltine Gallery was first opening. Mrs. Hazeltine hired me and it was a fresh start; until the cops began searching for me. One of the guys was bitter that I had left them and ratted me out. Remember how I told you that my husband had gotten a new job in Chicago?" Elaine nodded and then Golda continued, "Well… he didn't really. I told him that I had been offered a job here. In reality I just needed to get out of New York. Edward was a dear and moved with me. To this day he still has no idea about my past."

Elaine just looked at Golda in complete amazement. "Holy cow… that is some story!"

Golda laughed, "Yes, I suppose it is."

"And that must have been a very hard decision." Elaine finished.

"Indeed it was." Golda nodded then carried on, "You know it actually feels really good to tell have finally told someone. Things like this can really build up over time and eat at you. I don't know if that helped your problem any but I have to thank you for listening."

Elaine smiled, "Actually, I think it did in a way. Thank you for listening to me as well. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me." She winked.

"Thank you, dear. Why don't you head home early, it's been pretty quiet here."

"Are you sure?" Elaine began to stand up.

Golda nodded, "Yes, I'm sure. I hope everything works out for the best with you."

"Thank you, me too." She joked. Elaine left the gallery and began to just walk around aimlessly, in efforts to clear her head. She was being silly, she couldn't possibly be thinking about leaving Arnie and going back to New York could she? Maybe she was just endeared buy the letter. Maybe this was all in her head and not her heart… maybe.


	25. Back in New York

**Chapter 25**

As Elaine walked she couldn't help but wonder what Alex had been up too since he had written the letter.

_**Back in New York City…**_

Alex was doing alright, he missed Elaine something awful but he wasn't going to let it bring his whole life down. It had been two months since Elaine had moved to Chicago. Sadly, he was starting to get used to things without her. The hardest part about not having her around was that when he really needed to talk she was the one he went too. He supposed he could have called her but he learned after he had talked to her that one time that it reminded him just how much he missed her.

One day at the garage, Alex and Tony were sitting and playing cards when Latka wearily walked in. Alex looked up at Latka and said, "Hey Latka, how are you? You seem kind of tired."

Latka walked over to Alex saying, "I am tired, Alex. Simka has been having her morning sickness and it starts at four in the morning. And when she isn't having her morning sickness she is complaining."

"Complaining about what?" Tony asked curiously.

"Oh everything. The weather, dinner, our apartment, but especially Elaine." Latka answered.

Both Alex and Tony frowned at the mention of Elaine. They did feel really bad though because it must be hard not having a woman who knows what she's going through to talk too. Alex spoke up, "Do Simka and Elaine ever talk?"

Latka nodded, "Yeah, they talk every now and then on the phone. She says it's not enough though. She misses her terribly."

Tony sighed, "So do I."

"Yeah… I do too." Agreed Alex.

"Do you think we will ever see her again?" Tony wondered.

"Yes," Latka began, "she promised to come when Simka is having her baby. She told me to call her when she is in labor."

Tony perked up, "Really? Alright!" Alex, on the other, hand had mixed emotions. He was thrilled to know that he would get to see her again, but after all of his attempts for closure, this would undo everything, wouldn't it? His happiness about knowing that he'd be seeing her again prevailed over the other, he smiled, "That's great!" he said joyfully. _I guess there's no knowing what will happen until the time comes…_ he thought. He'd just have to wait and see.


	26. Thinking Back

**Chapter 26**

A few months had passed since Elaine had found Alex's letter. She felt that now she spent most of her time trying not to think about him. She didn't want to do anything until she saw him again. Obviously, she couldn't talk to him about everything, but maybe seeing him would help her figure out what she should do. Maybe when she saw Alex she'd remember why neither of them had ever really acted on their feelings, during a sane moment that is. The first time the question of 'them' came up was when Elaine had been over stressed at work. It was her first time being in charge of an exhibit and there was so much too it. It took up pretty much all of her time. She hadn't even shown up at the garage for a long time. When she finally did make it in she left after a few minutes, but before she did she invited all of the guys to the opening. The night did not go as planned. The thing that made her snap and completely lose it was when one of the owners approached her and complained that the Champaign was flat. And it didn't help that one of the artists had begun taking his paintings down saying that they were unfinished. So, one of the owners coming to her and complaining about lousy Champaign was the last straw for her.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Elaine asked the owner, also known as one of her boss', in a very frustrated and stressed out tone.

"Well I don't know," he answered, "but I mean people like bubbles in their Champaign, I know I do. Do you see any bubbles?" He said and asked snobbishly.

Elaine put her hands on her hips and answered, "You want bubbles?" then she put her face in his glass and blew bubbles. Alex who had been standing next to her pushed her away from the glass and tried to calm her down.

Her boss looked at the glass and said, continuing to use a snobbish voice, "Well, I guess that's what I can expect from a cab driver."

Elaine, appalled by his remark, shouted, "No, you know what you can expect from a cab driver?!" Alex picked her up just in time before Elaine's fist hit her boss' face. Alex quickly carried Elaine, who continued to yell and scream, out of the gallery. While he was driving her home Alex brought up that he thought that Elaine should go see a psychiatrist. She was very reluctant and insisted that she was fine and that the display at the gallery was just because of the pressure getting to her. Alex pulled over and continued to try and convince her to go.

"Now, I'm no psychiatrist but I can tell a manic depressive down syndrome when I see one." He persisted.

"Alex, I can't see a psychiatrist." Elaine contended.

"Why not?"

"What about the money?" she quickly responded.

"So you'll go to a clinic where they charge you according to what you're wearing. Now don't make money the issue; you're scared."

"Of what?"

Alex continued, "You're scared that you're going to find out that you're just as fragile and needy as all the rest of us."

"Alex, I don't need a psychiatrist!" Elaine continued to insist. "Yeah, okay, okay. The pressure's been getting to me. I'd be stupid not to admit that now but, I don't need to see a psychiatrist. I don't know, maybe I just need an arm around me once in a while…"

Alex rolled his eyes and laughed while he put his arm around her. Elaine laughed, "Or a pat on the head?" Alex then patted her head and then Elaine leaned on Alex's shoulder and continued, "Or a kiss…" Alex was still for a moment before he went to kiss Elaine's forehead but Elaine quickly moved her head and kissed his lips. It took Alex a moment to realize what was going on. After a few seconds he pushed Elaine off of him.

"Alex, don't pull away from me." She said seductively.

Alex stammered, "I-I'm not pulling away from you Elaine…" he began to ramble nervously how they shouldn't do anything while Elaine was in the frame of mind she was in.

"What are you afraid of?" Elaine asked curiously.

"What am I afraid of?" he repeated nervously. "Elaine, Elaine, look, I'm just afraid that you're doing this, maybe unconsciously, because you just don't want to deal with the fact that you might need some help right now. That's all."

Elaine wrapped her arm around Alex's neck, pulling him closer to her, and breathed, "Oh, I love it when a man tells me I'm unconsciously avoiding therapy!"

Once again, Alex pushed her off of him, "Elaine, Elaine, stop giving me a hard time, okay? I mean look, uh… it's not as if part of me doesn't want too- ah, uh… doesn't want too…" he stuttered.

Elaine giggled, "I'm gonna wait it out until you finish that."

It ended with Alex finally getting the 'no' across to Elaine. Though, he added, "Hey, but if you do go to a psychiatrist and he gives us the permission to… um-" He was interrupted by Elaine's glare and he finished, "I'll take you home now."

That night sort of marked the beginning their attraction. Pretty much every time they discussed becoming more than friends was in a heated moment or a bad frame of mind. They never really had a discussion about their relationship in a sane moment. Even their night together in Europe was clouded by Alex's depression after had having a completely miserable trip and Elaine's guilt towards that. Maybe when Elaine goes back to New York she and Alex could have a talk, but still not mentioning her having read the letter. Or maybe all of those moments and the events leading up to where they were now had been signs that Alex Reiger and Elaine Nardo just weren't meant to be together.


	27. The Call

**Chapter 27**

One evening Kathryn was over with Elaine. The two were chatting in the living room, Arnie was doing dishes and the kids were already asleep (Soleil was sleeping over). The phone rang, "I've got it." Arnie called from the kitchen. A few seconds later he came out into the living room with the phone in his hand. "Elaine, it's for you."

"Who is it? Can it wait?" she said, gesturing towards Kathryn.

"It's Latka." He answered with a grin; he had a pretty good idea what the call was about.

Elaine's eyes grew wide as her jaw dropped happily. "You mean…"

Arnie nodded enthusiastically, "I think so."

Elaine quickly grabbed the phone from Arnie and answered, "Latka? Hi! Is it time?" Latka said from the other end, "I think it is. We were doing the dishes when Simka grabbed my arm and nearly broke it." Elaine then squealed, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"

Katrhyn leaned over and whispered to Arnie, "What's going on?" she asked curiously.

Arnie answered, "Her friend back in New York is in labor. Elaine told them to call her when the baby was coming so she could fly out and be there."

Katrhyn smiled, "Oh my gosh that is so great!"

"Alright, I'm leaving right now!" Elaine hung up the phone and leaped up. "Simka's having her baby! I'm so sorry about this Katrhyn but I promised that I'd get on a plane as soon as I got the call!"

Kathryn laughed, "Don't worry about it! That is so great!"

"I need to wake Jennifer and Jason up, they are coming too so they can visit their father." Elaine said as she began heading towards their rooms.

"Alright! I'll wake Soleil. Do you need a lift to the airport?"

Elaine paused, "Oh, uh, I'm not sure. I don't know if Arnie was planning too." She raised her voice, "Arnie?"

Arnie answered having heard the conversation, "Whatever is more convenient for you two."

Kathryn added, "It's no problem for me to take them since I'll be heading out anyway."

Arnie shrugged, "Fine with me."

"Alright, great. Thank you so much Kathryn. Let me go grab our bags. Arnie, could you please wake Jason? And Kathryn would you mind waking Jennifer while you're waking Soleil?" Elaine said rapidly.

"Not at all!" Kathryn replied. Within five minutes they were ready to leave. The kids had no problem waking up; they were so excited to be going home to see their father and their old friends. They said their goodbyes to Arnie and they were on their way to the airport.


	28. The Flight

**Chapter 28**

They arrived at the airport and immediately went to see if they could get tickets for the next flight to New York City. Luckily there was a flight leaving in just a few hours. They got their tickets and sat down to wait. Kathryn and Soleil stayed for a while but then Elaine told them to go home (Soleil couldn't keep her eyes open). Jason eventually fell asleep but Jennifer on the other hand was wide awake. She was so happy to be going back to New York, even if it was just for a little while. The bullying had pretty much stopped and she had made a couple of friends but she missed her friends in New York terribly. She also missed her father. When the time came they boarded the plane. Elaine was thankful that the flight wasn't going to be a long one and that it took place at night. The one time she took the kids on a plane it was a nightmare. They were flying to Disney World and Jason kept getting sick and Jennifer, who was very young at the time, cried through almost the entire flight. Once they got on the plane Jason went back to sleep and Jennifer ended up falling asleep as well. Elaine tried to sleep herself but she had so many thoughts running through her head. _I can't believe it. Simka is finally going to be a mother! She and Latka are going to be the best parents. _Simka had wanted a baby for a while now but her and Latka couldn't afford it. Until, one day, Jim gave everybody one thousand dollars to give to any one person. He was trying to show them why he did that so often. The rest of them had doubts and kept telling him it was a foolish waste of money. He sure showed them. Anyways, Latka had decided to give the money to their priest, Reverend Gorky, because he made so little. Once the Reverend customarily objected the money (in their country they weren't allowed to accept gifts like that until they had refused it), he thankfully took it. He then noticed that Simka seemed upset. He asked her what was wrong and she truthfully answered, "I wanted that thousand dollars so we could afford to have a baby."

Reverend Gorky looked that the money in his hands and then handed it to Simka, "You are of so good heart… take money to have baby."

Simka was quite for a moment as she looked at the money being handed to her. She then protested, "You are givin' me this thousand dollars? No, no, no! I won't take it!" She then jumped in to Reverend Gorky's arms screaming, "Woo! Thank you! God bless you! Oh, our traditions are so beautiful." So after that generous gift they began trying for a baby. Now she was finally going to bring her long awaited child into the world. Another thing that was on Elaine's mind was how excited she was to see everyone again. And then there was Alex. She wanted to talk to him, but at the same time she didn't. He obviously wanted to move on and bringing up anything related to 'them' would just ruin everything. Also, this trip was about Simka- not Alex. This probably wasn't the best time to focus on Alex. Again, it will really all depend what it's like and how she feels when she arrives. Though she was excited to reunite with her best friends, she couldn't help but feel nervous. She used to see the guys nearly every day, and now she had been gone for about six months. A lot could have changed in that amount of time. Also, coming back after being estranged for that long could also be a bit awkward. Elaine shook her head trying to get rid of those thoughts, _They aren't like that. Besides, this isn't about me. This is about Latka and Simka. I'll just have to come again and then I can panic like this. This will be a great trip._


	29. Amanda Mae Gravas

**Chapter 29**

As soon as Elaine and the kids arrived in New York they saw Tony waiting for her (Latka had sent him to pick her up). "Tony!" she shouted when she saw him. She ran over to him and hugged him. Tony picked her up and spun her around, "Elaine, I can't believe it's you! Gosh, you look great!"

Elaine laughed, "Why thank you! So do you. How long have you been waiting here?"

Tony shrugged, "Eh, couple of hours." He then noticed Jennifer and Jason. "Oh hey guys, great to see you too!" he gave them each a high five.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I should have called. I was just so excited that I didn't think." Elaine said apologetically.

"Hey, don't worry about. The important thing this that you're here now and Simka's having a baby!"

"Yes!" Elaine agreed cheerfully, "Let's get to the hospital. Just let me call Vince and let him know I'll be dropping the kids off."

Tony nodded, Elaine made the call, and then they were on their way. When they arrived at the hospital they were greeted by Alex, Jim, and Louie in the waiting room. They were all so happy to see Elaine and greeted her with big hugs. It felt so great to be with them again. Elaine was so caught up in the thoughts of Simka having a baby that for the first time in a long while, she had forgotten all about the letter. She felt the same way seeing Alex as she did about the others. While they waited Elaine told them what she had been up too in Chicago and they each told her what they had been up too. About two hours later Latka came out into the waiting room and announced, "Guess what everybody, I'm a father!" They all stood up and cheered. Latka continued, "You can all come see my daughter and Simka in a little bit." He then noticed that Elaine was there also. "Oh good, you're here too Elaine!"

Elaine nodded and smiled, "It's great to see you, Latka!"

"Thank you, you too." He grinned. "Simka will be especially happy to see you. I have to go back to her now but I will be back when it is okay for you all to come in." About a half an hour later Latka came back out and told them they could see the baby and Simka. Before they went into the hospital room Latka said, "I told Simka that Elaine hasn't gotten here yet. I wanted it to be a surprise so I said that she was still waiting to get on a plane. Elaine, can you wait out here for a minute or two and then come in?"

"Awe, how sweet. Of course I can!" Elaine answered.

"Goody, okay, the rest of you come on in." Latka opened the door and let Tony, Alex, Jim and Louie in and then followed behind them. Simka was lying in bed holding her beautiful baby girl close to her. "Hi you guys!" she said happily, yet tiredly. "Meet Amanda Mae Gravas." Latka and Simka had a very hard time agreeing on a name. Simka wanted a name from the old country but Latka wanted something American. Finally, after weeks of debate, Simka agreed to an American name and chose the name Amanda because she had heard it in a movie before. They made her middle name Mae after Simka's great, great, grandmother. The guys all ooed and awed over the sleeping Amanda.

"Latka, Simka… Amada is absolutely beautiful." Alex stated.

Tony agreed, "She really is."

"Thank you Alex. Thank you Tony." Simka smiled.

Louie stammered, "Yeah… I… I never thought I'd say this about a kid but… she is pretty adorable."

"Thank you Louie."

Jim spoke up, "Very cute. I-I don't think I've ever seen one this y-young before." Just then Elaine walked in. "Hi Simka!"

Simka's eyes grew very wide, "Elaine! You're here, you're here! I thought you were still in Chicago!"

"Surprise!" she said as she winked at Latka. She walked over to Simka and hugged her. She looked at Amanda, "Oh Simka… she is so precious!" she said with tears in her eyes. "What's her name?"

"Amanda." Simka smiled, "Would you like to hold her, Elaine?"

"Awe, really? May I?"

"Of course." She carefully handed Amanda to Elaine. Elaine looked at Amanda in her arms and couldn't help but let a tear fall. It had been so long since she had held an infant in her arms. Amanda opened her eyes and looked at Elaine with a funny expression, one that you could tell meant, "Hey, who the heck are you?" Elaine continued to speak in awe, "She has the most adorable little face!"

"Thank you, she does, doesn't she?" Simka said proudly. Elaine began to hand Amanda back to Simka when Simka asked, "Would anybody else like to hold her?"

"I would." Alex said. It had been a long time since he had held a baby as well. A **very **long time. He walked over to Elaine who started to hand him Amanda. "Gee, I hope I remember how." Alex said nervously. Elaine laughed, "Just make sure you support her head… there you go."

Simka watched Elaine help Alex hold her daughter. Suddenly she got a feeling, "Latka…" she whispered.

Latka leaned over to Simka, "What is it?" he whispered back.

"I think I figured out who Elaine is really meant to be with."

"Who?" he asked curiously.

Simka looked over at Alex and Elaine again and then back at Latka, "Alex…" she said in the quietest of whispers.

Latka then looked up at Elaine and Alex and saw exactly what Simka was seeing.


	30. Set Up

**Chapter 30**

Elaine spent the week in New York. She visited the garage, the gallery- all of her favorite places. Though, most of her time was spent with Latka, Simka, and Amanda. Elaine was so distracted by other things that she hadn't once thought about Alex. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe all of the things she was feeling was just homesickness. Maybe she really had moved on from Alex.

Sadly, it came time to say goodbye once again. They were all at Latka and Simka's house for another goodbye party. "Oh Elaine, I wish that you could stay longer." Simka said sadly.

"Oh, so do I. I can't believe that I have to go back."

"Can't you stay just a little bit longer?" Tony asked hopefully.

"I wish. I need to get back to work."

"W-when will be see you again?" Jim inquired.

She answered, "Really soon I hope. I'd love to come back for Christmas."

"Does it have to be that long?" Louie asked gloomily.

Elaine chuckled, "I hope not. But it's just a couple months away." She then sighed, "Well… I guess I better get going if I'm gonna catch my plane." She stood up and walked over to Latka and Simka, giving them a big hug. "Congratulations again on having such a beautiful daughter."

"Thank you." They said simultaneously.

Elaine then walked over to Amanda's crib, "I'll miss you too. Be good to your Mommy and Daddy." She smiled. She then said her goodbyes to the rest of the guys. As Elaine started heading towards the door Latka stopped her. "Wait Elaine, how are you going to get to the airport?"

"I was going to catch a cab."

"Alright… Oh, wait a minute. Alex **is** a cab, he will take you." Latka said as he pushed Alex closer to Elaine.

Alex laughed, "Sure, I can take you."

This was the moment when Elaine remembered all about the letter. "Awe, that's sweet. But I wouldn't want you to go out of your way." She did her best to hide the nervousness in her voice.

"I don't mind at all." Alex said a bit too quickly. He wanted to spend as much time with Elaine as possible. Seeing her again made him realize just how much he missed her. He hated to see her leave again.

She timidly sighed, "Alright… as long as you're sure it's no trouble. Oh and I need to pick Jason and Jennifer up from their father's place first."

"Okay, no problem." They both said goodbye to everyone and went on their way.


	31. A Big Favor

**Chapter 31**

When Alex and Elaine first got into the car, they were both silent. Elaine kept thinking, _If I'm going to talk to him it's got to be now. We're alone and I'll be leaving so it's not like it's going to make the rest of the trip awkward. Well, it would probably make the rest of the car ride awkward but that's better than the whole trip itself. I have to say __**something**__. The silence is becoming very uncomfortable! What happened to when Alex and I could talk about anything? I guess being away really makes a difference… _Meanwhile, Alex was thinking, _I can't stand this silence! Why can't I say anything? There's plenty to talk about; the weather, Amanda, her life in Chicago… just __**something**__. Okay, I'll just say the first thing that comes to mind… on three. One… two… three: _"So… do you think Chicago will ever replace New York City?" _…why on earth did I ask something like that?_

Elaine, who had been looking out the window, turned to him, "Nothing could ever replace New York City. Chicago is great but it can't, and never will compare to New York." She said with sincerity.

"That's good to hear… and you like the people there?" _Where the hell are these questions coming from? _Alex couldn't help but think.

"Yeah, at least the ones I've met."

Alex nodded, "That's good. So… how's Arnie?" _Why must I bring him up?_

"He's well. He really loves his new job." _Great Alex, just bring him up… Wow… did I really just think that? This isn't good is it? _She asked herself.

Alex just nodded, and so began another bout of silence. Elaine continued to think, _Something, something… I need to say __**something**__. But what? Ugh, I wish I could just bring up that damn letter! I still don't even know how I feel about it. If I really love Arnie or if I really love Alex, why isn't the answer clear? _"I really I wish I could bring you back with me… all of you." She found herself saying.

Alex glanced at Elaine and said, "So do I."

"Alex… I'm so sorry I haven't written or called. Well, other than that one time. I feel bad. I wanted make sure I stayed in touch but every time I reached for the phone or started to write I was afraid of getting homesick again. It was hard when I talked to Simka and I knew it would be harder with you. I guess my excuse was that I'd be coming back for Amanda. But now that that's over, I'm terrified that I'll go back to Chicago and end up doing the same thing all over again."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Elaine. I did the same thing. It's been… I don't know… weird I guess not having you around and I missed you so much."

"I guess it's harder to remain friends when you live so far away…" she admitted sorrowfully.

"Yeah…" he sighed.

She went on, "I mean, look at what happened with Bobby. He moved to California and we haven't really heard from him since. I don't want that to happen with me."

"Hey, we don't have to let that happen. Besides, Bobby went to California to peruse his acting career. That keeps him very busy. Not that I'm trying to say that you're not busy but-"

Elaine laughed, "I know what you mean. And you're right. There's no reason I shouldn't call or especially write. Okay, yeah. I'll feel homesick but I'll feel worse if I don't keep in touch… right? Besides, if we keep in contact then I can plan more visits. Arnie said that if I ever needed to come and visit that he'd pay for my ticket. He's so sweet like that…" _Where did that last part come from? Haven't I learned from the letter that I shouldn't bring up Arnie? And especially when it's something like that?_

"Yeah… that's a good point."

"I promise I'll do better when it comes to calling and writing."

Alex smiled, "Me too." After a moment he again glanced at her and noticed her biting her nails. "Elaine, is something else bothering you?"

"No, why do you ask?" she lied.

"You're biting your nails." He said with implication in his voice.

Elaine quickly realized what she was doing and took her hand away from her mouth. It was a habit of hers to bite her nails when she was nervous or stressed or upset about something. Half the time she didn't even realize she was doing it. She sighed, "Fine, you caught me."

"Do you want to talk about it? I know we haven't seen each other for a while but I'll always be here for you if you need to talk."

"Awe, that's so sweet." She thought quickly about what she should say. _Should I just bring up the letter and get it off my chest? Though, we just had a nice moment… I don't want to ruin that. I have to say something; he knows that something's bothering me. I just want to tell him about that stupid letter! But how can I when I can't even figure out how I feel about it. _She finally managed to say, "What would you do if you found out something that you weren't supposed to know… and then you couldn't figure out how you felt about what you found out about? And would you tell the person who didn't want you to know the thing you found out?"

"…What?" Alex asked confusedly.

"Say you found out something accidently, but someone didn't want you to know the thing you found out. Would you tell this person that you know the thing that they don't want you to know even if you weren't sure how you felt about the thing you found out yourself?" she re-worded.

He shrugged, "I don't know… I guess it all depends on what the thing is that the person didn't want you to know about."

"Something that affects both of the people…"

"How so?"

_Okay… I'm going to do it… I'm going to tell him… _she thought. "Uh…" she stopped. That was all she could get out."

Alex laughed slightly, "Must be in a big way if you can't even say it." He joked.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm having so much trouble saying it… well I do and I don't."

"That's alright, Elaine. You don't have to tell me. Just know that if you are ever able to say it and want to talk about it… I'm here."

Elaine smiled half-heartedly, "Thanks Alex."

The arrived at Vince's and Elaine went in to get the kids. A few minutes later she came back to the car with them. "Hi Alex!" they both greeted happily. They had always loved Alex. He was a big part of their lives. One time Jason stayed with Alex for a week while Elaine and Jennifer went to visit Elaine's aunt who was sick. Jason had a spelling bee and Elaine didn't want him to miss it so she begged Alex to let Jason stay with him. And then, every year for Jason's birthday, Alex would go with Elaine and the kids to Coney Island. Sometimes he'd watch Jennifer and Jason while Elaine went out and couldn't get a sitter. Alex was like family to them. "Hey guys! How have ya been?" Alex said cheerfully as well.

"Great!" they answered. Jason began, "Daddy took us too see a Broadway show!"

"Oh really? That sounds like fun. What show did you see?" he asked enthusiastically.

Jennifer answered, "We saw Annie!"

Elaine chimed in, "How was it?"

"I loved it!" Jennifer answered happily.

"Yeah, it was pretty good." Jason agreed.

"Did you do anything else exciting this week?" asked Elaine.

"Not really, it was just good being able to see Daddy." Answered Jason. Jennifer nodded her head in agreement.

Elaine responded, "That's good."

Jennifer then asked curiously, "Did you get to see Simka's baby? What did she look like?"

"Yes I did," Elaine answered happily, "She is absolutely adorable!"

Jason asked, "What's her name?"

"Amanda."

"When will we be able to meet her?" Jennifer eagerly asked.

"I'm not sure, we'll just have to make another trip here." She looked at Alex with a smile at which he smiled back.

They arrived at the airport and still had a bit of time. Alex offered to wait with them until it was time for them to board the plane. Elaine accepted; she wanted to spend as much time with him as well. They grabbed something to eat at the food court and then found a place to sit by a window so Jennifer and Jason could look at the planes. Alex and Elaine began to talk just like they always had before as if nothing had changed. In the middle of their conversation Elaine thought to herself, _I'm so glad that I didn't finish telling him about that letter. I'm sure we wouldn't be having this great conversation. I think this trip really did help me after all. Alex and I are friends. And that's all we're supposed to be. _The time came to board the plane (all too quickly in Alex and Elaine's opinions). "Jason and Jennifer, it's time to go."

"Already?" they whined.

"I'm afraid so." She said sympathetically.

"But the airport is so much more fun the airplane." Jason complained.

Jennifer agreed, "Yeah, why can't we go on the train again? That was so much more fun!"

"I know but the plane is so much faster."

"I don't want to get there faster. I want to stay here as long as possible." Jason continued to moan.

"I know sweetie, so do I but-"

Jason cut her off, "Then why can't we stay here if you want to be here as well?"

Alex jumped in seeing the strain in Elaine's expression. "Hey, New York will always be here. You can always come and visit. Besides, don't you want to go home and see Arnie?"

"I guess…" he said.

Jennifer ran over to Alex and hugged him, "Can you come with us Alex? Please, please, please?"

"Jennifer…" Elaine said, unsure of how to respond.

Jason joined in, "Yeah Alex, can you? Please, please, please, pretty please?" he begged.

"Come on guys; don't make this harder than it needs to be." Elaine said with much frustration in her voice.

"But Mommy!" they cried.

Elaine said angrily, "We are going to miss our plane!" it then occurred to her that maybe she shouldn't have said that.

"Good!" they yelled back.

Alex spoke up, "You two need to listen to your mother. I'm flattered that you want me to go with you but I just can't."

"Why not?" Jennifer asked with tears in her eyes.

"I have to go to work in a little bit." Alex answered.

Jason replied quickly, "Call them and tell them you're sick."

Alex fought the urge to laugh. "Jason, I can't lie."

Jennifer answered, "Sure you can, Mommy used to do that all the time."

Alex looked at Elaine and Elaine looked away guiltily. Just then the loudspeaker announced, "Flight 107 to Chicago, Illinois final boarding call."

"Look guys," Elaine began, trying to stay calm so the scene wouldn't get any bigger, "We need to go right now."

"No!" Jason and Jennifer screamed. Elaine put her hands over her face in attempts to not scream back at them. "Please do not yell, people are starting to look."

"We don't care!"

Alex pulled Elaine aside, before Alex could say anything Elaine said apologetically, "Alex, I am so, so sorry about this. I have absolutely no idea what brought this up. I'm so sorry that they are putting you in such an awkward position."

Alex chuckled at Elaine's display of guilt "Elaine, you don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault. Look, I know that it's not right to let them get their way but why don't I go see if there's a ticket left. If there is I can fly to Chicago with you and once their asleep I'll leave."

She replied, "Oh Alex, I couldn't ask you to do a thing like that. Besides, what if there isn't a flight back tonight?"

Alex smiled, "You didn't ask me to, I'm offering. And if there isn't I'll wait at the airport or get a motel room."

Elaine rolled her eyes, "Don't be silly, I wouldn't let you go to a motel, you'd stay with me."

"I'll go get a ticket." Alex said as he began walking away. Jennifer and Jason, not having heard Alex and Elaine's discussion, began to run after him. "Don't go Alex!" they yelled.

"Jason and Jennifer Nardo get back here right now." Elaine scolded in a tone that the kids knew she meant business. They slowly, and nervously, walked back to her. Elaine crouched down so she could look them in the eye. "I am very disappointed in you two. You both know better not to throw a tantrum like that. Now, Alex is going to try and get a ticket but if there isn't any left then I don't want you to cause another scene. The only reason I'm letting you get your way right now is because I have to be to work tomorrow and I can't miss this plane. I don't want you to think that if you behave this badly that you can get what you want."

The two kids frowned. "We're sorry, Mommy." Jason said sincerely.

"I'm sorry too." Jennifer said, also sincerely.

Elaine said as she hugged them, "Thank you."

"How long is Alex going to be staying with us?" questioned Jennifer.

"He's staying until he can get a flight back here. That could either be tonight or sometime tomorrow." Elaine answered.

"Aw, can't he stay longer?" Jason asked with a slight whine.

"I'm afraid not. And please do not give Alex a hard time. I feel bad enough now as it is."

Jennifer and Jason sighed, "We won't…"

Elaine persisted, "You promise?"

The two nodded, "We promise." A few minutes later came back and held his ticket up. "Looks like I'm coming with you guys." Jason and Jennifer both cheered and Elaine smiled. As they all boarded the plane Elaine whispered to Alex, "Thank you."

Alex whispered back, "You're welcome."


	32. Returning To Chicago

**Chapter 32**

Even though it didn't take too long to fly from New York City to Chicago, Elaine knew it was not going to be a short flight. Jason and Jennifer were wide awake and excited to have Alex with them. Elaine kept having to tell them to quiet down because they were disrupting the other passengers on the plane. After about an hour in to the flight, Jason got sick. Luckily, it was only the once and then he was fine. Near the end of the flight they began to hit some turbulence. Elaine began to clutch the seat. "Are you alright, Elaine?" Alex asked as he noticed Elaine.

"I don't know…" she answered.

"Don't worry; it's just a bit of turbulence. We'll be fine." He said reassuringly.

"I know, I know… I've just never experienced it this badly before."

Alex took her hand and held it tightly, "It will pass… and we will be landing soon." Elaine nodded and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. Just then there was another huge bump and Elaine clung on to Alex's arm. She was just relived that Jennifer and Jason were finding it fun. She hoped that they didn't notice how frightened she was. She wasn't quite sure why; she had never been afraid of flying before. Though, again, she had never hit this kind of turbulence. To her relief they landed not to long after. They got off the plane and Elaine looked around for Arnie (who was picking them up). When she didn't see him she figured he was just running late so they found a place to sit. Forty five minutes pasted and still no sign of Arnie. "Mommy, I'm tired…" Jennifer said wearily. "When is Arnie going to be here?"

"I'm not sure… I think I'm going to go call him." Elaine stood up, "Alex, could you please watch the kids while I go find a phone?" Alex nodded. A few minutes later Elaine came back and said, "Well, he must be on his way. There was no answer at the apartment." She sat back down and continued to watch for Arnie. About ten minutes later Elaine saw Kathryn. "Kathryn!" she called out.

When Kathryn heard Elaine she quickly walked over to her. "Elaine, there you are!"

"What are you doing here?" Elaine asked inquisitively.

"Arnie called me. He had forgotten that you were coming home today and he went to a game with his friends. He called me and asked me to come pick you up."

"Oh…" Elaine reacted with hurt in her voice, "Well, I'm so sorry that you had to come out here. That was so sweet of you!"

Kathryn smiled, "Hey, what are friends for?" she winked.

Elaine smiled back and then said, "Oh! Speaking of friends… I have someone here who I want you to meet." She turned around and took Alex's hand and pulled him up. "Kathryn, I'd like you to meet my very good friend, Alex. Alex, this is Kathryn." Alex and Kathryn shook hands while Kathryn said, "Oh, so **this **is Alex-" she then noticed Elaine signaling not to finish that sentence. Kathryn corrected, "I've heard so many great things about you."

Alex grinned, "Same with you."

Elaine cut in, "Alex, do you want to go see when the next flight to New York is?"

"Oh right, yeah. I'll be right back." Alex said as he began to walk away.

Once Alex was out of ear shot, Kathryn interrogated in a hushed tone, "This isn't the Alex who wrote the letter?"

Elaine bit her lip, "It is… he just doesn't know that I've found it."

Kathryn asked curiously. "How come he's here?"

"It was the strangest thing. Jennifer and Jason absolutely refused to get on the plane unless Alex came along. They threw a huge tantrum and then Alex offered to come. I knew the kids always loved Alex but I guess I never knew just how much. Though, I think being back in New York made them homesick and they wanted to bring back something- or in this case someone- that reminded them of it."

"Whoa! That was so nice of him to do that."

Elaine smiled, "Yeah, he's really great like that… you know, when we were on the way to the airport I almost told him. I said something like 'what would you do if you found something out accidentally and wanted to tell the person who didn't want you to find out but you were afraid too because you didn't know how you felt about the thing you found out yourself'"

Kathryn giggled, "Wow, I can't believe I actually followed that. Anyways, what did he say?"

"He said that it depended on what the thing was. When I tried to tell him all I could get out was, 'Uh.' Then he said that I didn't have to tell him but he'd be ready to listen if I ever wanted too." Elaine answered. Just then Alex came back. "The next flight out is tomorrow morning."

"What time?" Elaine asked.

"8:35" he answered.

"That works, I can bring you to the airport after I take the kids to school and on my way to work."

"Sounds good… but are you sure you don't want me to get a motel room or something?" he asked a bit guiltily.

"Alex, I am not letting you stay in a motel room when I have a perfectly nice couch that folds out into a bed." She laughed.

"Alright, alright you win."

On that note they all left the airport and went on their way home. In the car Kathryn asked all about the trip. "So how cute was the baby? What's the name?"

Elaine beamed, "Her name is Amanda Mae Gravas and she is absolutely adorable! And the best part is, Simka asked me to be her Godmother!" she squealed.

"That is so great!" Kathryn exclaimed, "Is Simka going to send any pictures of Amanda? I'd love to see her."

Elaine nodded, "Yep! We took some pictures while I was there but they didn't get developed in time."

"How about you two kids, did you have a good trip?" Kathryn asked.

"It was great!" Jason answered.

Jennifer chimed in, "Our Daddy took us to see Annie on Broadway!" she exclaimed happily.

"Broadway?! Gosh, you kids are so lucky." She said with jealousy in her voice.

"You've never been to a Broadway show?" Jason asked, shocked.

Kathryn shook her head, "Nope. I've never been to New York City."

Jennifer and Jason's jaws both dropped and repeated, "You've never been to New York City?"

Kathryn laughed and once again shook her head, "Nope."

"Mommy, we need to go back to the airport and take Kathryn to New York City!" Jennifer shouted.

Elaine laughed, "We will definitely need to take her sometime, won't we?"

Jennifer nodded, "And soon!"

"So Kathryn, where is Soleil today?" Elaine questioned.

Kathryn answered, "She's in Springfield visiting her grandmother."

"Awe, that's nice."

When they got to the apartment, Kathryn dropped them off and told Elaine that she would call tomorrow. The first thing Jennifer and Jason did was argue over who got to show Alex their room first.

"I want to show him first!" Jason yelled.

Jennifer yelled back, "To bad! I want to too!"

"I'm the oldest, I get to go first!"

"I'm a girl! Haven't you ever heard of 'ladies first'?" Jennifer put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out.

"Ha!" Jason mocked, "If you're a lady then I'm Batman!"

"Good! Batman would let me go first!"

"Nu uh!"

Alex cut in, "Hey, hey, hold it guys. I think I have a way we can settle this." He took a quarter out of his pocket. "Now call heads or tails."

Jason and Jennifer simultaneously called out, "Tails!" they then glared at each other. Before they had the chance to start fighting again Alex spoke, "How about this: Rock Paper Scissors." Jennifer and Jason agreed and played. Jennifer was the winner. After the kids were done showing Alex their rooms, he put them to bed (as a favor for Elaine). After, he went to find her. _She's taking an awful long time to unpack… _he thought. He figured that she was in the kitchen or living room. Nope. He noticed that her bedroom door was slightly opened so he peaked in to see if she was there; still no sign of her. He cautiously walked in and then noticed her standing out on the balcony. "Hey," he said as he opened the door and joined her, "what are you doing out here?"

Before Elaine turned to face him she wiped a tear away, "Hey… I don't know. I just like coming out here sometimes. It helps clear my head."

"Elaine, have you been crying?" he couldn't help but notice.

"No…" she answered weakly.

"Don't lie to me."

Elaine breathed, "Okay… maybe I have been."

"What's the matter?" he asked with concern in his voice.

Elaine stayed silent. The reason she had been crying was because when she went to tell Jason and Jennifer that it was time for bed she noticed that Alex was tucking them in. While he was tucking in Jennifer Elaine poked her head into Jason's room. Jason was still awake and noticed Elaine so she went over to him to kiss him goodnight. When she did Jason asked her, "Mommy, how come Alex can't stay?"

"Because New York is his home." She answered.

He went on, "Why can't New York be our home again? Or why can't Alex at least move here?"

"Sweetie, I'm afraid it's just not that simple… And… I never knew how much you loved Alex."

"Sure I do. I lived with him for a week and he was so much fun. And I loved when he came over for dinner or for my birthday or even when he babysat us." Jason answered sincerely.

"You never told me that… how come you never told me that?" Elaine interrogated.

Jason shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I thought you already knew."

Elaine smiled, "Well, I'm glad I know." She gave him another kiss on the forehead and left. That's when she went out on to the balcony and began to cry. Every time that she seemed to feel better, whether it was about living in Chicago or Alex, something happened that undid it; even just seeing Alex tucking them in. The only time Arnie ever did that was when Elaine asked him to watch them if she was going to be out past their bedtime. And here Alex was; he had flown all the way to Chicago for them… and for her, he was spending time with them and she hadn't even asked him to do so. He really cared. Arnie didn't even seem to care enough to even remember when they were coming home. And instead of leaving his game he called someone else to come get her. Maybe it was just the anger and hurt she was feeling towards Arnie in the moment, but now more than ever she wanted to tell Alex about the letter. She still hadn't said anything when Alex spoke again, "Elaine, if you're really upset about something I think it would help if you talked about it."

Elaine closed her eyes and took a deep breath and then turned to look into his eyes, "Alex…" she tried desperately to finish her sentence. Once it was out, it was out. There was no turning back. "I…I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" he asked slightly nervous by the tone in Elaine's voice.

"I… uh…" she stammered, "I don't really know how to say this… or, tell you…" she paused for a moment and then finished, "Wait here." Alex nodded as she went back into her bed room and walked over to her dresser. She grabbed a picture of Jennifer and Jason that was resting on top of it and then opened up the back of it and took the letter out. She held it in her hands as she looked at it. She almost couldn't believe that she was about to show him that she had found it. She started to cry again but quickly composed herself before she went to go back out onto the balcony. Just as she began to step foot out there Arnie walked in. "Oh Elaine, there you are."

Elaine quickly turned and hid the letter behind her back. "Oh Arnie! Hi, you're back…"

Arnie walked over to Elaine and kissed her, "You are too!" he joked. "Sweetheart, I am so, so, so incredibly sorry that I forgot to pick you up! I hope you forgive me."

"I forgive you." She forgave him… but she was still hurt. "By the way, Jason and Jennifer refused to get on the plane without Alex so he's here."

Arnie laughed, "I kind of wondered why he was standing on the balcony."

"Alex, Arnie's back." She shouted.

Alex turned around and walked back into the room, "Oh, hey there Arnie. Great to see ya." He shook his hand.

"You too!" Arnie replied. "Well, I'm exhausted. What a game that was! I think I'll go shower then hit the sack."

"Alright. Well then, come on Alex and I'll fix the couch up for you." Elaine said she and Alex starting heading out into the living room; but before Alex, or Arnie, could notice, Elaine stuffed the letter in to her shirt. When they entered the living room Elaine began taking the cushions off the couch. Alex said, "I hope you don't think that I'm prying but… I'm still willing to talk about what's been bothering you."

Elaine smiled, "Thanks, but I don't really think I should if Arnie's here."

"Oh… does it have to do with him?" he asked as quietly as he could.

"Well…" she shrugged nervously, "in a way I suppose…"

They finished pulling out the couch bed in silence. The only other words they said to each other were their goodnights.


	33. Telling Alex

**Chapter 33**

Elaine laid in bed unable to sleep. Of course this would happen. The moment that she finally got up enough courage to tell Alex everything- Arnie came home. _Was this some sort of sign? _She couldn't help but wonder. But then again, what if the kids suddenly begging for Alex fly home with them was a sign? She was certainly getting mixed signs if that's indeed what they were. She tried for literally hours to sleep. She looked at the clock which read 2:43 A.M. Finally she had had it. She got up out of bed, grabbed the letter, and made her way out into the living room. She sat on the edge of the couch and gently nudged Alex awake. "Alex… Alex… Alex wake up. I need to talk to you."

Alex slowly opened his eyes and groggily said, "What is it, Elaine?"

She took a deep breath and moved to the edge of the bed. "You know how I had something that I needed to show you earlier?"

"Yeah." He said while rubbing his eyes in attempts to wake up.

"Well… I um… I couldn't sleep. I needed to talk to you about it- or tell you- or… show you… Anyways, I took Arnie coming home at that moment as a sign not to tell you but I'm afraid it's just going to eat at me until I do." She said with much anxiety in her voice.

"What is it?" he sat up.

Elaine stood up and put the lights on dimly. She walked back and handed him the piece of paper in her hand (which was shaking from nerves). Alex looked at her with a very confused look as he took the letter. He opened it and began to read. Once he realized what it was he froze. "Oh no…" Elaine sat back down as Alex continued. "How did… when did… How did you get this?" he asked almost terrified to hear the answer.

Guiltily, Elaine started, "The day I left I had remembered that I had left a bag in my locker. When I went back to get it I was taking one last look at the garage and noticed the crumpled up paper on the ground. I was going to pick it up and put it in the garbage but I noticed my name so I began to read it. I had only gotten half way through the first line when Arnie came in and told me that it was time to go. So I stuffed the letter into my bag. I had completely forgotten about it until a couple months later when I came cross the bag. I read it then and I wish I could explain the feeling that came over me."

"Oh my gosh… Elaine, I am so sorry. I never meant for you to see that, or know, or-"

Elaine interrupted, "I know, I know… I felt so, so terribly guilty after I read it. I couldn't decide if I should tell you or if I should just ignored it. I tried so hard to forget about it but every time I did it always managed to find its way back into my mind. I finally decided that when I went to visit that I'd make my decision according to how I felt when I saw you. But with all the distraction with Amanda I never got the chance to think about how I felt. Until we were on our way to the airport… That's what I was trying to tell you then but I just couldn't get it out. Then at the airport when we were chatting I had then decided that it was good that I hadn't told you. And then came all the events after that… you offering to fly here for the kids, the way you held my hand and comforted me on the plane… you spending time with Jason and Jennifer... I had come out to tell them that it was time for bed but you had remembered when their bed time was and were tucking them in. I had gone in to Jason's room to kiss him goodnight and he was still awake. He told me how he wished you could stay and about how much he loved you and loved having you around. I was out on the balcony crying because here you are being so thoughtful and caring while I'm here with a man who can't remember what day I'm coming home after being away for and week; and when he does remember he doesn't want to leave the precious whatever game he was at and sends someone else to come get me." All of the feelings she was feeling came out in one big sob.

"Oh, oh, oh, Elaine… come on don't cry." He said as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, in attempts to comfort her.

She continued to cry, "I can't help it Alex. I should have never ever moved here. It was all one big huge mistake."

"Don't say that…" he comforted, "Look, you're probably just feeling this way because it's late and maybe you're just a bit mad at Arnie right now; but it will pass."

Elaine sat up wiping her eyes and shaking her head, "No, it's much more than that… Alex, I… I…" she stopped as she looked deeply into Alex's eyes, almost without even thinking she kissed him very tenderly. Their tender kiss grew into a very passionate one. After a few moments that ended all too quickly Alex pulled away. "Elaine… Elaine, we can't be doing this. I mean… Arnie… You're with Arnie. Not to mention that he's in the next room... Lord knows what would happen if he were to walk in and see us kissing."

Elaine sighed knowingly, "You're right… you're right. Gosh, I have no idea what came over me. I'm so sorry; I shouldn't have done that…"

Alex shook his head, "Don't be sorry. If I had never written that letter we wouldn't be here."

"But Alex… I'm glad we're here. I'm glad I-" Suddenly, Arnie seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Hey… is everything okay out here?" he yawned.

Nervously, Elaine quickly stood up. "Yeah- everything's fine. I had just gotten up to get a glass of water and Alex was up reading and we just got to talking."

"Oh alright, well I'm going back to bed. Are you coming Elaine?"

"Yeah… I guess I should." She answered. "Alex, could I please have that… article I showed you?"

"You want to keep it?" Alex responded as he handed her the letter.

She looked at him and meekly smiled, "Of course I do." Without another word she followed Arnie to bed.


	34. And I Love- Who?

**Chapter 34**

Elaine crawled back into bed even though she knew that trying to sleep would be pointless. _Did what just happed… really happen? _She couldn't help but think. _I can't believe I showed him the letter, let alone kissed him! I guess I finally found out how I feel though… I love him… I love Alex. _Tears ran down her face. _How can this be happening? How could I have __**let **__this happen? What am I going to do? _A sob escaped her as she grew even more overwhelmed. Unfortunately, that sob caused Arnie to awaken. "Elaine, is that you? Are you crying?"

Elaine froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. She composed herself enough to be able to say, "No… I'm fine. I just… uh, yawned. That's all, I yawned." Her voice broke on the last few words.

"Alright." He said as he turned over and went back to sleep. Elaine turned over as well and found herself thinking, _Alex would have known that that was a complete lie… No, I need to stop thinking like this. I'm with Arnie. We are happy. I think… _Lately she hadn't been sure. He always seemed to be at work, and when he wasn't at work he's hanging out with people from work. Him not showing up at the airport was definitely a good example. _He never used to be like that. _She thought. _Maybe it's because we live together now. Maybe he was trying so hard to win me over, even though he had me, and now this was the step that finally proved to him that I loved him. I guess he really is a sweet man aside from his flaws. I would completely break his heart if I left, wouldn't I? But if I'm in love with Alex I can't very well be with Arnie; even if Alex doesn't want to be with me. It just wouldn't be fair to Arnie. My love for each of them is so different. With Arnie, it has always been love in a way that it feels safe and kind of familiar. He never likes to not be laughing or smiling. We just have great times when we are together. With Alex… well there is definitely the history. Our many years of friendship… a friendship where we have cared about each other and have been there for one another. A friendship where we have seen each other at our worst and have seen each other at our best. A friendship where we have been through great times and through bad. He has always been there for me and I hope that I've always been there for him. He can and always has been able to tell when something is bothering me and knows immediately when I'm lying. It usually takes Arnie a while if at all. They both love Jason and Jennifer. Arnie loves surprising them with gifts whereas Alex loves to spend time with them. Alex cared enough to fly here with me because of the kids… Alex lives in New York with all of the other people I love. I've met some wonderful people here, like Kathryn and Golda, but it just isn't home. Even when it comes to making love with them it is very different. When Arnie and I make love it's just like the way I love him I guess… it's calm and familiar. There never seems to be a significant amount of passion between us. With Alex, even though we only did that one time... boy was it passionate and intense. Yet at the same time it felt calm and safe but in a very different way than with Arnie. But I guess it isn't fair to compare that because with Alex there were so many emotions involved. Not to mention four years of tension between us. Though, even with Arnie and I's first time it didn't have any element of excitement… Oh gosh, who am I even trying to kid? It's Alex… I love Alex. He's the one I should be with. I should have never tried to convince myself that I didn't love him. I should have just been honest with him, and myself, right from the start. There is so much time that has gone by that we could have shared together… _She began to get out of bed to go tell Alex how she felt but thought against it. Arnie had already been awakened by her twice tonight and didn't want to wake him again. _I should probably talk to Arnie first shouldn't I? _Though, she figured she'd end up telling Alex on their way to airport later. Finally she had managed to drift off to sleep. Dreading, yet eagerly awaiting morning.


	35. Frantic

**Chapter 35**

When Elaine woke up she realized that she had overslept. Arnie was already gone and Jason and Jennifer should have been just arriving at school. She jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. She woke the kids up and told them to get ready as fast as they could. When she went out into the living room she noticed that the couch was folded up and Alex was nowhere to be found. Her heart sank. Maybe it was better though, she should tell Arnie about everything before telling Alex. But that still didn't stop her from rushing to get out of the house and to try and catch him at the airport. When Jason and Jennifer came out of their rooms they noticed Elaine's frantic pace.

"Mommy, are you alright?" Jennifer asked with concern in her voice.

"I've been better." She said truthfully as she handed both kids a plate of toast. "Now take that in the car with you, you're both incredibly late for school." She rushed over to the door and handed them their coats and then grabbing her own.

The kids followed as Jason said, "Don't be too worried about being late. I have a math test today that I don't feel like taking."

"I'm more worried about catching Alex at the airport." She said pushing them out the door.

Jennifer realized, "Oh yeah… where is Alex? I thought he was going to be here to take us to school."

Elaine answered, "Well, now he's at the airport and I'd really like to catch him before his plane takes off."

"Can we come too?!" they both asked excitedly.

Elaine shook her head, "I'm sorry but you need to go to school. Besides, I need to talk to Alex alone."

Jason looked at her compassionately, "Mommy, did you and Alex have a fight?"

"No," she answered, "why do you ask?"

"Because you are acting weird and Alex isn't here like he said he would be… and because I heard you crying last night." He admitted.

"You heard that?" Elaine asked nervously.

Jason nodded, "Yes."

Elaine breathed, "Well, I'm afraid this is more complicated than a fight." They reached the car and they all piled in quickly. Elaine fished for her keys which were in her coat pocket. She felt something else in the pocket. She pulled out a folded piece of paper that had her name written on it. It was as if the world had stopped because she knew that it was from Alex. She sat down in the car and slowly opened the letter and read:

_Dear Elaine,_

_I hate to have you read another letter but considering what happened between you and I last night I think it's better for me not to be around in the morning. I hate to leave before we had a chance to talk about what happened. Come to think of it I don't think we really finished our conversation before… you know. Call me when you get the chance. I know what we have to talk about is better said in person but considering the circumstances there's no other way. Well, there are letters but I think we've dealt with these things enough. Again, I am so incredibly sorry that I wrote that letter in the first place. I just wrote that so I could get everything out and try to make peace with your moving to Chicago… and with everything else I suppose. I'm sorry if it put any stress or strain on you because it was never my intent._

_Tell Jason and Jennifer goodbye for me._

_Again, I'm sorry to leave without talking about what happened between us._

_Love,_

_Alex_

Elaine bit her lips to stop herself from crying in front of the kids. She started the car and began driving.

Jennifer could sense something upsetting her mother, "Mommy, what's the matter? I thought we were in a rush. What did you just read?"

Elaine cleared her throat, with her voice shaking slightly she answered, "Oh… it was just a note."

"From who?" Jason interrogated.

"Alex."

The two kids both smiled, "I wanna read it! I wanna read it!" Jennifer shouted.

Elaine shook her head, "I'm sorry sweetie, it's not a note that I want you to read."

"How come?" Jennifer asked, disheartened, "Did he say something bad about me and Jason?"

Elaine quickly answered, "No, no, no, of course not. In fact he told me to said goodbye to you guys for him."

Jason sadly inquired, "Is he saying goodbye forever?"

"No, he just meant goodbye for now."

"Then how come you don't want us reading it?" he finished.

Elaine sighed with frustration, "Because it's a note he wrote to me about a personal matter that doesn't concern either of you."

"Why?" the two asked.

"You are probably the two nosiest people I have ever met."

Jennifer grinned, "We're nosy because we care." She said proudly. Jason nodded in agreement.

Elaine chuckled, "Well, I'm not going to tell you what it said but… how would you guys feel about moving back to New York?"

Instantly, Jennifer and Jason answered with a squeal, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Can we please?!"

"So I take it you like the idea?" Elaine laughed.

"Yes!" they shouted again. Jason then continued, "Did Arnie get another job in New York?" he asked hopefully.

Elaine sighed, _Here comes the hard part… unfortunately this will be the easier of the two. _She thought. Then she began, "Actually… I mean, how would you guys feel about moving back to New York **without **Arnie?"

The two kids looked at Elaine, very puzzled. "Without Arnie?" Jennifer questioned.

"Yes."

"Did you and him break up? Is that why you were crying last night?" Jason probed.

"No… well, not yet. But I'm afraid I need to."

"How come?" they questioned with much disappointment in their voice.

"Because…" she paused and took a deep breath, "Because I'm in love with someone else."

"Who?"

"Alex."


	36. It Isn't Home

**Chapter 36**

Elaine dropped Jason and Jennifer off at school; she would have to tell the school that they would be going back to their school in New York when she came back to pick them up later. Right now she just wanted to focus on catching Alex at the airport. Both Jennifer and Jason were shocked and kind of confused about the whole situation. But they loved Alex, they love their mother, and they loved New York, so they were happy. Elaine quickly glanced at her watch. Alex would be boarding the plane soon. It, of course, was one of those days where Elaine seemed to hit every red light. _Figures… _she thought. Finally she arrived at the airport. She grabbed the first parking spot she could find and began her search. It really would have helped if she had known what his flight number was and what gate he would be leaving from. "Flight 327 to New York now boarding." She heard the loudspeaker announce. _Oh no! _Quickly, she found which gate the flight was leaving from and began running; because of course it was nowhere near where she was. She reached the gate just in time to see the doors closing. "Wait!" she called as she tried running for the doors, but a security guard stopped her. "Ma'am where do you think you're going?"

Elaine stepped back, "I'm not trying to get on the plane, I just need to talk to someone who just got on."

The security guard crossed his arms, "I'm sorry ma'am but once those doors are closed nobody else gets on and no one gets off."

"But I have something really important that I need to say to someone." She droned.

The guard rolled his eyes, "What is it that you have to say that is so important that I should even consider bending the rules?"

Elaine looked away and stuttered, "Th-that I um… that I love someone…"

The guard huffed, "Look lady, this ain't a romance novel. I'm sorry but whoever you love is just going to have to wait to hear it."

Elaine put her hands on her hips and yelled, "Fine! Who needs this? It's all to cliché anyway." On that note she stormed off without looking back. She headed back to her car. Now she was extremely late for work. Luckily the airport was fairly close to the gallery so she was able to get there quickly. She literally ran into the gallery, frantically saying, "Oh my gosh Golda, I am so, so, so sorry that I'm late! I was up almost all of the night, then I over slept and still had to bring my kids to school and then I had to hurry to the airport and I can explain why but it's still no excuse for me being late."

Golda laughed, "Elaine, it's perfectly alright. Actually… I need to talk to you. Could you please sit down?"

Elaine caught her breath and sat down, kind of worried about what Golda had to say. It seemed serious. "What's up?"

Golda fiddled with her hands nervously as she began to speak. "Elaine… do you remember that when I gave you this job that this particular position would only be temporary because our regular receptionist was out with her baby?" Elaine nodded and Golda went on, "Well… she's back a month earlier than I expected. I got the dates mixed up. Now, I made you a promise that I'd find you something else to do here or if not here, someplace else. I'm so terribly sorry about how short notice this is. I feel just awful."

Elaine stood up and beamed, "Wait, so you don't need me anymore?"

Golda looked at her, confused, "Unfortunately, we do not… Elaine, you seem strangely happy about this."

Elaine's grin grew into a huge smile and she hugged Golda, "This is the most wonderful thing I've heard all day! It's also the best thing that could have happened!"

Golda continued to look confused, "Well this certainly was easier than I thought it would be…" she said.

"I was just about to tell you that I couldn't work here anymore!" Elaine chirped.

"You were?"

Elaine nodded, "Yes. You know how I went to New York last week?"

"Yes?" Golda replied.

"Well, do you remember how I told you about my friend Alex and how I had found a letter that he had written where he said he loved me?" Golda nodded as Elaine continued. "Well when I got to New York we were all so busy visiting Latka, Simka and Amanda, their beautiful new baby girl, that I hadn't had the time to think about how I felt about the letter or Alex. The night I left, Alex drove me to the airport and that's when I remembered the letter. I tried telling him about it but I just couldn't. Then I was glad of it because while we were waiting for the plane- he didn't want to just leave me and my kids there- we had such wonderful conversations as if I had never left. Then, for some reason that I think will always be a mystery to me, my kids threw a huge tantrum pretty much refusing to get on the plane unless Alex came with us. I knew they loved him but I guess I never knew how much. So after a scene Alex offered to come with us if he could get a ticket. He was able to so off we went. When we landed in Chicago we waited for what felt like hours for Arnie to come pick us up. It turned out that he forgot and went to a game. He didn't want to leave the game so he sent Kathryn to come get us. So I was pretty hurt and mad by that. Then when we got home Alex just spent time with kids while I unpacked. When I had come out to tell them it was time for bed I saw that he was already tucking them in. He just kept doing sweeter and sweeter things. I began to cry and ran out onto the balcony so no one would notice. No such luck. After he was done tucking the kids in and came out and found me on the balcony. He could tell that I had been crying and at that moment I decided to tell him about the letter. I went back into the bedroom and got the letter out but as I was going back out on the balcony Arnie came home. Later on I was trying to sleep but I just couldn't. I got up and went into the living room where Alex was sleeping. I woke him up and showed him the letter. We began talking about it, he kept apologizing and I kept telling him not too… and then I kissed him. After a moment he pulled away and said that we couldn't be doing what we were doing; that I'm with Arnie and that he was in the next room. It was a very good thing that he stopped us because not to long after that Arnie came out asking if everything was alright. After I went back to bed I did a lot of thinking and I realized that I've loved Alex all along but kept trying to deny it. I then, miraculously, fell asleep and ended up over sleeping. When I went into the living room he was gone. As I got into the car I found that he had put a note in my pocket telling me to call him because he wanted to talk about what had happened. After I dropped the kids off at school I went to the airport as fast as I could. Unfortunately, when I got there the gates had just closed. And now I'm here telling you about this whole thing. Anyways… my point is that I'm moving back to New York to be with Alex. Or… at least talk to him. I have no idea if he'd still want to get involved. Things could have changed since he wrote the letter…" she paused while her thoughts interrupted. _Though by the way he kissed back I'm sure not too much has changed._ She couldn't help but smile at the thought. "But even if he doesn't want to be involved, I can't very well be with Arnie. Not when I feel this way about somebody else."

Golda's jaw dropped, "Holy cow… this all happened within the last twenty four hours?"

Elaine laughed, "Yes, it has been very eventful."

"How did Arnie take it?" Golda asked very curiously.

"I uh… I haven't exactly told him yet…" she admitted.

"What? You haven't told him yet?" Golda repeated. "Well go, go! Tell him now!" she said pushing her towards the door.

Elaine sighed, "I guess I should go talk to him… shouldn't I?" Golda nodded then Elaine continued. "I don't know how to thank you for how wonderful you've been to me and for all you've done for me. This job was my first positive outlook on living here." She sorrowfully smiled.

Golda smiled back, "No thanks needed, dear. You've really helped me out a lot and you've been a wonderful friend. Promise me that you'll call and tell me how everything turns out with Alex?"

"I definitely will!" Elaine hugged her and then exited the gallery. She slowly walked to her car and looked around at the city. Chicago wasn't a bad place. It just wasn't where she belonged. It was never home. She belonged in New York City. The place where all of her friends were and more importantly, the man she truly loved.


	37. Goodbye, Kathryn

**Chapter 37**

There was one last person Elaine had to see before she went to break up with Arnie. Kathryn. Kathryn Johnston, her best friend in Chicago. If it hadn't been for her Elaine thought that she never would have survived. Slowly, Elaine approached the door to Kathryn's apartment. She took a moment and then knocked. Kathryn opened the door and greeted Elaine with a smile, "Oh hi Elaine! What a nice surprise. Come on in!" Elaine walked in and Katrhyn shut the door behind her. "What brings you by?" she asked curiously.

"Well… it's kind of a long story…" Elaine frowned.

Katrhyn grew serious, "What's up?"

Elaine explained everything that had happened in the greatest detail. Kathryn just sat there stunned and engrossed in what Elaine was saying. When Elaine finished telling her story she ended with, "So… with all that, I've decided that I'm moving back to New York."

Kathryn's heart sank, "You are?"

Elaine sorrowfully nodded, "Yes… I wish I could just take you with me. That would make New York absolutely perfect."

Kathryn couldn't help but let a tear fall, "So do I… I'm going to miss you something awful, Elaine."

"I'm going to miss you too, Kathryn." Elaine began to tear up herself as she hugged her. "Do you promise that you'll come visit me in New York? I'll visit here as well, but I know how badly you want to see New York."

"Of course I will, now that I will actually have a reason to go!" she managed to say with a smile.

"Good," Elaine smiled back, "because you have been the greatest thing in my life here and I'd hate to lose you."

"I'd hate to lose you as well." Kathryn agreed. "You better call me when you get there and tell me everything that happened with Alex. **Everything**." She winked.

"Absolutely! I promise you will be the first one I call." After a moment she sighed, "Well… I guess I better and talk to Arnie." She said as she stood up.

Kathryn stood up as well, "I wish you all the best." The two slowly walked towards the door. Before she left she turned back to Kathryn, "Again, thank you so much for everything."

"And thank you."

Elaine added before she left, "Give Soleil my love." Kathryn nodded and Elaine went on her way.


	38. Wives, Lies, and Rick

**Chapter 38**

It actually took Elaine a little while to find the bank where Arnie worked. She had never been before. Luckily she was eventually able to find it. It was sort of out of the way. Before she went into the building she had to take a moment to gather her thoughts and think about how she was going to word everything. It is certainly not an easy task to tell the person you're with that you're leaving them because you're in love with somebody else. Especially when that person was someone the person you're with knew, and not to mention had just seen him in his home. She finally managed to get up the courage and walked through the doors. She looked around the lobby a bit. It was definitely a fancy place. But then again a lot of banks are. She asked one of the tellers where Arnie's office was. The teller questioned why she needed to see him and Elaine explained that she was his girlfriend. The teller gave Elaine a funny look, "His girlfriend? He said that he was married."

Elaine looked at the teller, stunned. "He what?"

"He said that he was married." The teller repeated.

Things just got even harder. Elaine shut her eyes and took a deep breath in attempts to alleviate the frustration. "Well in that case can you please tell me where my **husband's **office is?" By the look on Elaine's face the teller knew that she wasn't lying. The teller directed Elaine to Arnie's office. She knocked on his door. "Who is it?" Arnie questioned from the other side of the door, to which Elaine answered in a very angry tone, "It's your **wife**." _Uh oh… _Arnie thought, he then quickly responded, "Come in." Elaine flung the door open and stormed in saying. "You told people that I am your wife?! Arnie how could you do such a thing? Didn't you think that people would have found out eventually?"

"Elaine, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I didn't think it was **that **big a deal. I mean, don't you think it's flattering?" he questioned nervously.

"Flattering? No! I mean, it's nice that you think of me that way but it puts me in a very awkward position."

Arnie frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain in a minute…" she sighed, "but first, I just want to know why you told everyone that we're married."

"Look… other than the interns, I'm pretty much the only person who isn't married. I didn't want to be **that** guy. Besides, everyone just assumed I was married. I mean, let's face it. I'm not the youngest man around. Anyways, I kind of figured that you and I would get married eventually so I didn't think it would be a problem…" he confessed.

"Oh Arnie… that is…" she shook her head, "I can't even think of what it is. All I know it that it's going to make what I have to say even harder."

Arnie looked at her very concerned and worried. Just then one of Arnie's friends (who was also a co-worker) walked in, "Hey Arnie! Was last night's game incredible or what?"

Almost as if Elaine had disappeared Arnie perked up, "Hey Rick! Boy was it ever! That last play had to have been the greatest one I have ever seen! In person that is."

Elaine tried to get Arnie's attention, "Um, Arnie…" but he continued talking to his friend. "Arnie… Arnie…" Beginning to become infuriated at being ignored she shouted over their talking. "Arnie, I am going back to New York!" Arnie and Rick both stopped talking immediately. Arnie's jaw dropped, "You're… what?"

Rick awkwardly look at Elaine and then Arnie and said, "I'll be going now." And then he quickly left the room.

Arnie continued to stare at Elaine in utter shock, "Elaine what does this mean?"

Elaine stuttered, "Well… it means… that, um… well…" she took a deep breath and finally managed to say, "Arnie, I am in love with somebody else." The look in his eyes absolutely broke her heart. "You're in love with someone else?" he repeated. He hoped that this was just a terrible nightmare.

Elaine sadly nodded, "I am."

"Who are you in love with?" He asked not really wanting to know the answer but at the same time he just had to know.

"With Alex."

"Alex Reiger?" he said in a more than surprised tone.

"Yes… Alex Reiger…" she said with much guilt in her voice.

"The same Alex Reiger I saw you up with last night?" he started to grow angry.

"Yes, the same Alex Reiger you saw me up with last night."

Arnie asked suspiciously, "So what were you **really **doing with him last night?"

"What?"

"What were you really doing out there sitting with him on the bed? And for that matter why was he out on our balcony? And let me guess, the kids weren't the one begging for him to come, it was **you**. Oh and I bet Simka didn't even have a baby! Well I'm just glad to know that I spent all of that money on you for plane tickets just so you could cheat on me." He harshly accused.

Elaine gasped, "Arnie! How could you say such things?! Are you saying that I lied to you?"

"Kinda!"

Elaine had never seen Arnie like this before. It kind of scared her but it enraged her even more. She reacted, "For your information, Simka **did **have a baby. Alex and I hardly spoke during that whole trip until he was taking me to the airport. Jason and Jennifer **did **beg for Alex to come, I had nothing to do with it. And we were just talking on the balcony!" she had to think for a moment before about whether or not she should tell him about the letter. She figured she had too. "I don't know why I should even bother to tell you the truth but I will. A few months ago I had found a letter that Alex had written saying that he loved me. He never sent it or even meant too. When I went back to get that bag out of my locker I saw the crumbled up piece of paper on the floor and I went to throw it away when I saw my name. I had begun reading it there and then you came in saying that it was time to go. I had no idea who it was from or what it was about. So I put it in the bag and had forgotten about it until I came across it a couple months later. I read it then and regretted ever picking it up and I especially regretted reading it. All of my old feelings for him came back but I tried so desperately to deny them."

Arnie interrupted, "All of your **old **feelings?"

Elaine nodded, "Yes… for the longest time I had had feelings for him… and I guess he had the same feelings for me. But we never really told each other. But on some level we always kind of knew. We were both afraid of ruining our friendship. Anyways… we had a thing one time, it only was for one night, and we both agreed to be just friends. I thought I had moved on; especially when I met you. But finding and reading that letter was like I had traveled back in time. I spent months trying to tell myself that it was just homesickness and when I saw him I really thought that was all it was. On the way to the airport I tried telling him because it began to bother me again, but I couldn't say it. Then he waited with us for our plane and we talked just like we used to and knew that I had made the right decision. When it came time to board the plane that's when the kids started clinging on to Alex and refusing to get on the plane without him. Alex offered to come with us on the plane and take the next flight back. We got back and the next flight to New York was the next morning… or this morning rather. So when **Kathryn **brought us home he played with Jason and Jennifer until it was their bed time. When I had gone to tell them it was time for bed I saw that Alex was already tucking them in and I just began crying. I don't know if I was just overly touched that he remembered their bed time after all this time or the way he spent time with them or the gesture or if it was just that thing that topped everything off. That's when I went out on to the balcony. After Alex was through tucking the kids in he came to find me and I was still on the balcony. He noticed that I had been crying and said I'd feel better if I talked about it. So I went back into the apartment and got the letter. That's when you came home. I took it as another sign; there had been many and they were mixed. I couldn't sleep and I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to tell him. I went out in to the living room and woke him up. I handed him the letter and told him what had happened." And now came the very hard part of the story to tell him, "And then… and then I kissed him. It was like my mind turned off because I never would have had I really thought it through. Then Alex stopped us before we did something we would both regret. You came in not to long after that. After I was back in bed I did a lot of thinking… Arnie… you are such a dear and wonderful man. I've always had great times with you and I will cherish those memories forever. But I can't deny my feelings for Alex any longer. I need to go back to New York. I've already talked to the kids about it and…" she was about to say that they were happy and wanted to move back home as well but she saw how deeply hurt he was. "And they are just absolutely heartbroken. They love you so much. I've quit my job, I've told Kathryn that I'm leaving and now… I guess I've told everyone."

Arnie sulked, "Gee Elaine… I… I guess I don't know what to say. I'm sorry that I got so angry."

She smiled compassionately and shook her head, "You don't need to be sorry. I'm sorry. It pains me to be doing this to you."

"Don't worry about it… I guess I haven't given you any reasons to stay around anyway."

"What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"I haven't been around much lately, I'm not helpful with the kids as I should be, I'm not great looking, and I'm sure a lot of other things." He said with defeat.

"Oh Arnie, it isn't you at all." _Okay, some of it's you… but that's not the main reason. _Elaine added in her mind before saying, "I really have enjoyed our time together."

"So have I." he said with a sigh. "So… when are you leaving?"

Elaine answered, "Once I leave I'm going to see about getting a truck and I'll start packing." She then reached into her purse and pulled out her checkbook. She made one out and then handed it to Arnie. "What's this for?" he asked curiously.

Elaine answered, "It's for the plane tickets. Seeing how things turned out I wouldn't feel right having you paying for them."

"Elaine don't worry about it." He protested.

Elaine insisted and then hugged him, "Goodbye Arnie."

"Goodbye Elaine…" Elaine walked out of the office and then out of the building, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her. She went to the first pay phone she saw and called the movers. Luckily she was able to get a truck and a driver within a few hours. Of course that took some extra money, but it was worth it. She picked the kids up from school and told their teachers and principal that they would be going back to school in New York. They weren't exactly thrilled with the fact that they were transferring again but seeing as it was close enough to Christmas they gave the children some work to work on and they could start again in the New Year. Elaine, Jason, and Jennifer then went home and packed as fast as they could. Elaine called the kids' father and begged to let them stay with him until she was able to find a new place. It took a lot of arguing but finally Vince gave in. The truck arrived and the movers began to load the truck with what had already been packed as Elaine and the kids finished packing a few final items. A few hours later Elaine hailed a cab and off they went to the airport in hopes that there would be a flight to New York very soon.


	39. She's The One

**Chapter 39**

The next flight leaving for New York left at 8 o'clock sharp. Which meant that they still had an hour to wait. Jason and Jennifer kept their selves occupied coloring while Elaine sat and thought. _I wonder what Alex is doing right now…_

_**Back in New York…**_

Alex had opted not to go into work when he got back. He was still trying to process everything that had happened with Elaine and with the lack of sleep he probably shouldn't be driving; and especially if he'd be driving other people. He had come home to the phone ringing off the hook; he had forgotten to tell everyone that he was staying the night in Chicago, let alone going to Chicago. He called everyone and told them that he was fine and why he had gone. The last people he called were Latka and Simka. Simka was the one to answer, Latka had an early shift. He told Simka what happened and was about to hang up when he thought, _Simka and Elaine are pretty close… I wonder if she ever mentioned the letter to Simka. _"Hey wait a minute, Simka?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Elaine, by any chance, mention a letter she found to you?" he asked.

"No, why?" Simka asked, puzzled.

Alex stammered, "Well… uh. Never mind then."

"Oh come on Alex, you have to tell me now! Please, please, please?" she begged.

"No, Simka. I'd really rather not."

"Spill it, Reiger!" Simka said in a tone which Alex knew meant business. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you… well, the day Elaine left, I had written her a letter saying… uh, telling her that I… well, love her."

"You what?! You love her?!" she shrieked, waking up Amanda. "Oh no."

Alex could hear Amanda crying in the background and said, "I'll finish the story later. I'll let you go."

Simka responded frantically, "No, no, no, don't hang up! I wanna hear what happens!"

"But what about the baby?"

"Keep talking, I can get her to stop crying and listen to you at the same time." She insisted. "So, you're saying that you are in love with Elaine?"

"Yeah… so anyways, I never had any intention of sending it. It was just so I could get my feelings out of paper and try to move on. Well then I-" He heard Amanda begin to cry harder and said, "Look, Simka… this is kind of hard to do while she's crying. Can you call me back when she's calmed down?"

"Fine, fine." Simka said and then hung up the phone. Alex sat on the couch waiting for the phone to ring. About ten minutes later Simka called back. "Hi." He answered.

On the other end Simka cried, "Alex, help me! Amanda won't stop crying. This is the first time I've taken care of her without Latka here. You gotta come over and help me!"

"Simka, Simka, calm down." He replied, "Don't worry, I'll be right there." He hung up the phone, grabbed his coat, and went on his way. He got to Latka and Simka's as fast as he could. They usually left the door unlocked (because they had a lot of hope and trust in America. Which is lovely, just not in the neighborhood they lived in) so Alex walked in. He didn't hear Amanda crying so he quietly called, "Simka?" Simka came out from behind the curtain that her and Latka had up separating the bed room and the living room. "Hi Alex… she calmed down… She's asleep now."

"I can see that." He chuckled.

"Well now that you're here, finish telling me about that letter where you tell Elaine that you love her!" she demanded eagerly.

"Alright, alright. What was the last thing you remember?"

"You had just written this wonderful letter." She said with a grin.

"Right…" he took a deep breath and went on with his story. "So I wrote the letter knowing that I'd just throw it away. I didn't necessarily want anyone reading it. So I finished the letter and threw it away as I was leaving the garage. I guess it missed the trash can because Elaine came back to the garage after I had left to get something that she forgot in her locker and saw the paper on the ground. When she picked it up she saw her name and began to read it but she put it in her bag to read it later. A couple months later she said she came across it after having forgotten about it. She read it then. She couldn't decide if she wanted to tell me or not and said she had decided to make up her mind when she came here. On the ride to the airport she tried telling me but got too scared I guess. Then at the airport, as I told you before, her kids begged me to fly with them so I ended up in Chicago. I had spent time with the kids because I had missed spending time with them. After a while I noticed that it was their bedtime so I figured that I'd tuck them in to save her the trouble; she was busy unpacking. After they were in bed I went to see how Elaine was doing and I found her out on the little balcony attached her bedroom. I knew she had been crying. She tried to deny it but I know her far too well. She then admitted that she had been and I guess she found it very sweet that I was spending time with the kids. I could tell something was still bothering her and she then told me that she had to show me something. She went back into her bed room and when she was coming back out Arnie came home. So she said to forget about it. Later that night she woke me up and said that she had to show me what she had started to show me earlier. She turned the light on and handed me the letter. I read the first line and immediately knew that it was the letter. I kept apologizing and she kept telling me not to. She had told me the whole story involving how she found it and when she read it. The next thing I know we were kissing. It took me a moment to realize the dangers of us doing so. One, she was with Arnie, two, he was in the next room. I pulled away and said we couldn't be doing this and she agreed. It's a good thing we stopped because moments later Arnie came out asking what was going on; he must have heard Elaine crying. So she went back to bed with him and I folded up the bed, wrote a note telling her to call me, and waited at the airport until my flight. I felt bad leaving without saying goodbye, especially to the kids, but I just was afraid of how awkward it might have been in the morning. Not so much between me and Elaine because it's not like the first time this has happened but with-"

Simka cut him off and shouted, "This wasn't the first time this has happened?!" Again, her shouting woke up Amanda. She moaned and stood up to go get Amanda. It would still take some getting used to having a baby around. It would be especially hard for Simka because she was naturally loud. A few seconds later she came back with Amanda in her arms. Luckily she had stopped crying pretty quickly this time. She sat back down next to Alex on the couch, "I'm not going to put her back to bed until this story is finished. Now tell me about these other times!"

Alex hesitated, "I don't know Simka… if Elaine hasn't already told you I don't know if I should…"

"Oh come on, you've said this much! I won't tell Elaine, besides, I wanna know so badly!"

Alex laughed at Simka's persisting. "Alright fine I'll tell you… but only because it would be good to hear what you think. I mean, I'm sure you have a different perspective seeing as you're both women."

Simka smiled and said to Amanda, "Okay, listen up you. More importantly let me listen!" she said kiddingly.

Alex laughed and began, "No, this wasn't the first time something like this has happened between me and Elaine. Well, the kiss anyway. One time she was upset about something and I told her that she should get some therapy. She really didn't want to and was trying to avoid it by starting something between us. We kissed then but I told her that it wouldn't be the right time to get involved. Then another time I offered to be her pretend boyfriend for a dinner with a 'friend' from high school. They were very competitive and Elaine could sense that this friend was feeling sorry about her life, seeing as Elaine had picked her up in her cab. So we went out to dinner and I played her very loving boyfriend and my not so much of an act really convinced her friend and her boyfriend… and Elaine. After the date Elaine tried getting me to admit that it wasn't an act. I panicked and said that I was just playing a part. Elaine wasn't taking that as an answer so she said something like, 'You didn't feel anything when we were kissing?' so I said no and that I'd show her. I kissed her gently and said, 'Nothing.' Elaine still didn't buy it she took matters into her own hands and kissed me **very **passionately. I still tried saying it was nothing but I wasn't very convincing… And then there was one other time on vacation." There was no way he was getting into the details of **that **story. He had kept it a secret this long and there was no way he was going to break it now.

Simka stared at Alex with her mouth opened wide, "Alex… she's the one."

Alex looked at her very confused, "What?"

"Remember that gift where I can find a person's perfect match?"

"You mean the one that set Arnie and Elaine up?" he huffed as he rolled his eyes.

"So I'm not always completely right!" she snapped, "But I know now more than ever that you and Elaine belong together."

Alex abruptly stood up, "What? No way, she's with Arnie. If something were to happen like that between us it would have happened already."

Simka stood up as well, "Alex, you said yourself that you kissed last night! Tell me… who started it."

Alex stuttered, "Well… um, E-Elaine…"

"See!" she screeched. Amanda began to squirm so Simka sat back down. "Alex, you gotta go back and talk to her in person. You two are meant to be together!" Alex began to protest but Simka cut him off before her got far, "And don't you think that I'm just figuring this all out now. For a while now I've known that I made a mistake with Elaine and Arnie and that she was meant to be with someone else; I just didn't know who. Then the night Amanda was born and Elaine was helping you hold Amanda I could see very clearly that Elaine is meant to be with you. If you don't wanna take my word for it then ask Latka, he saw the same thing I did."

Alex just looked at her unsure of what to say. He would love nothing more than to be with Elaine, but he wasn't going to break her and Arnie up to do so. Simka repeated, "Now go back to the airport and get on the next flight to Chicago!"

"Simka, I can't. I love Elaine and I'm not going to go ruin her life just to make mine better. I had my chances and I blew it."

Simka shook her head, "No, you haven't blown it. You have the chance to get her back until she says 'I do' to Arnie."

"Look Simka, I'm not going to Chicago. End of story. Now if you'll excuse me, I haven't had much sleep, I've been on two airplanes within the past twenty four hours and I'd really just like to go home and sleep. I'll see you later." Without another word he left. Simka continued to sit on the couch and looked at Amanda and thought, _they really are meant to be together… Maybe I can try convincing him to go after he's gotten some rest. _She then said to Amanda, "Let's get you back to sleep before you get grumpy like Uncle Alex."


	40. Finally

Thank you to all who took the time to read this!

* * *

**Chapter 40**

Elaine and the kids arrived back in New York City. She quickly hailed a cab and dropped Jason and Jennifer off at their fathers and then went to Alex's as fast as she could. When she got there she pounded on his door repeatedly until he answered. She only prayed that he wasn't at work. To her relief he was home. Alex opened the door and was shocked to see Elaine standing on the other side. "Elaine… what on earth are you doing here?"

Elaine smiled, "I have something to tell you and I just couldn't say it over the phone."

"Well come on in." Elaine walked in and Alex shut the door. Before Elaine had the chance to say anything Alex apologized, "Elaine, I am so sorry that I left without saying goodbye. It seems even worse that I didn't considering our last conversation…"

Elaine laughed, "Alex, don't worry about it."

They were both silent for a minute and then Alex inquired, "So what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Well…" she began, "It's actually a couple of things. The first thing is that I broke up with Arnie."

Alex gasped, "You broke up with him? Why? Is this just because we kissed last night?" he panicked, "Because if it is I have been doing a lot of thinking and I think you may have just been upset with him about not picking us up at the airport. Not to mention the hour this all took place. That's no reason to break up with him!"

"Alex, Alex, relax. There much, much more to this story."

"I'm sorry," he sighed, "go on."

Elaine took a deep breath, "I broke up with him because…" she began to choke up. This was the moment that she thought she'd only be able to dream about. She took another deep breath and began again, "I broke up with Arnie because I'm in love with you."

Alex's eyes grew wide, "You're in love with **me**?"

Elaine smiled, teary eyed, "I am… I think I have been for a while now but never wanted to admit it. I love our friendship as well. If it wasn't for that I never would have grown to love you. I never thought I'd ever be one to say that I've fallen in love with my best friend. You've always been there for me when I needed you. When I met you I was going through a pretty rough time. I was still newly divorced, I was raising two very young children, I was holding down two jobs, and I thought love would never come my way again. It turned out that I am more in love with you than I have even been with anyone- including my ex-husband. I love you because you are so caring and loving, like I mentioned before, I love how you're always there for me. You always know exactly what to say or do. I love the fact that you love my children, and they love you too. When I told them that we were moving back to New York because I'm in love with you they seemed genuinely happy."

Alex, who had been smiling this whole time, questioned, "Wait, did you say that you're moving back to New York?"

Elaine happily nodded, "Yep. I have a moving truck with me and the kids' things that should be here sometime within the next couple of days. Tomorrow I'm going to look for an apartment. I don't want you to think that I came here expecting you to feel the same way I do. I just can't be with Arnie if I feel this way about you. Besides, everything I love most is in New York."

Alex smiled and looked into Elaine's eyes while he stroked her cheek, "Elaine… you read the letter didn't you? I love you too. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else also. I think I explained it all in the letter but I can repeat it until the day I die. I love the way you laugh, the way you smile. I love how you're always so upbeat. I love you because you're also always there for me too. Some of the greatest moments in my life I shared with you. I love you, Elaine. I just can't say it enough."

"Oh Alex…" she breathed. "Do you think that it's worth risking our friendship? I mean, when it comes down to it that's been the thing that has been stopping us… hasn't it?"

"Yeah… I guess it has." Alex admitted. "But now… I think I'm willing to risk it… how about you?" he asked nervously even though he was pretty sure of what her answer was going to be.

Elaine smiled and wrapped her arms around Alex, "I'm willing. I can't think of anything right now that would make me so mad at you that would, even if you and I didn't work out, keep us from remaining friends."

Alex agreed, "Neither can I." They looked at each other a moment and smiled. Alex slowly leaned in to kiss Elaine and she kissed back, unrestrained. This single moment had been the happiest moment for the both of them in quite some time. Suddenly there was a rapid knock on the door. Alex mumbled, still kissing Elaine, "Who is it?"

"It's Simka, now open up Reiger, I gotta talk to you and I don't have much time because Latka is with Amanda and he needs to sleep!" She shouted.

Elaine pulled away from Alex and asked, "What's going on?"

Alex laughed and said, "Oh, I talked to her earlier about what happened and she said that she had been wrong about Arnie being your perfect match and that you and I are meant to be together. She kept telling me to get on a plane and go back to you in Chicago but I was too afraid to interfere in your's and Arnie's relationship. I'm sure she's here trying to get me to go."

Elaine grinned, "Oh… I see! She still doesn't know that I'm here…"

Alex grabbed Elaine and held her close as he walked them over to the door where Simka was still shouting. "I'm serious Reiger, open up right now! What part of I don't have much time don't you understand?!"

Alex began kissing Elaine again and flung the door open. Simka stormed in frantically saying, "Look Reiger, I don't care how you feel about it, you are getting in a cab with me right now and we are taking you to the airport! You will get on a plane and you will go tell Elaine that you love her and that you can't live without her!" she slammed the door shut and then noticed Alex and Elaine. She squealed, "Elaine! Elaine it's you! You're here! And you're kissing Alex!" she said more than enthusiastically. Alex and Elaine both pulled away and smiled at Simka. Alex put his arm around Elaine's shoulder and walked towards Simka, "I'm afraid that Elaine beat me to it."

"Elaine, do you love Alex?" Simka asked hopefully.

"I do." She looked at him and smiled, "And it feels so good to say it- and to let myself feel it."

"So are you guys… like a…" Elaine finished Simka's sentence, "Alex and I are now a couple."

Once again Simka squealed and hugged them both, "I am so, so happy for you- both of you." Suddenly it occurred to her, "Wait a minute, Elaine, does this mean that you will be living in New York City again?" she asked hopefully.

"It does!" Elaine answered with much excitement in her voice.

"Yay!" Simka yelled as she hugged Elaine. "Well, I will go now and let you two be alone." She winked. "I have to go tell Latka the wonderful news! Bye!" she waved and happily left Alex's apartment. Alex and Elaine couldn't stop smiling. After all these years, all the good times, and all the bad times; after the constant denial of their true feelings for one another and all of their failed relationships in the process of them trying to get over the other; they were finally together and in each other's arms. They were starting a brand new chapter of their lives and neither of them could wait to begin.

The End.


End file.
